Method for using computers to facilitate and control the creating of a plurality of functions

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a method and apparatus that allows competing as well as complementing suppliers, vendors, service providers, purveyors, and other types of sellers internal inventory management as well as controlled design and publication of presentations for external near real-time interactive access to buyer-centered presentation, sales, distribution, and confirmation systems as well as other traditional media advertising and outreach. The Automated Media Presentation Generator including a Publication and Placement Control Engine that allows the sellers a self serve interface accessing a plurality of Media Venues as well as Third Party Creative and Management Professionals, integrates a Distributed Sales and Inventory Control structure with Processing and Communications Resource Saver, and further provides a Reservation, Access, and Verification System replacing traditional ticket and confirmation methods.

[0001] This application is a continuation in part of copending parentapplication Ser. No. 09/480,303, filed Jan. 10, 2000

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of Invention

[0003] The method and apparatus of the present invention is related toAutomated Media Creation and Publication Engine with Third PartyCreative and Management Professional Interface, Resource Saver,Inventory Control, and Ticket Distribution Vending System.

[0004] The invention also relates to the Automated Media Creation,Publication, Placement, and Control Engine with Third Party Creative andManagement Professional Interface a Processing and CommunicationsResource Saver, including a Sales and Inventory Control protocol, and aReservation, Access, and Verification System Utilizing Ticket andConfirmation Replacement Methods.

[0005] In another aspect the invention relates to Automated MediaCreation, Publication, Placement, and Control Engine with Processing andCommunications Resource Saver, including a Sales and Inventory Controlprotocol, and a Reservation, Access, and Verification System ReplacingTraditional Ticket and Confirmation Methods.

[0006] In yet another aspect the invention relates to Automated MediaCreation, Publication, Placement, and Control Engine, including a Salesand Inventory Control protocol with Processing and CommunicationsResource Saver, and a Reservation, Access, and Verification SystemReplacing Traditional Ticket and Confirmation Methods.

[0007] Prior art for electronic and other presentations of commercialproducts, goods, and services is accomplished by individual sellers orseller organizations or their agents submitting materials to each andevery media outlet or to stand-alone electronic malls, outlets, ordirectories. Most sellers choose the media or outlet for the sale oftheir products, goods, or services; obtain the guidelines andrequirements; negotiate a contract; and then compile material and designindividual presentations to conform to the requirements for each media.This time consuming and costly business necessity has created hugemarketing programs and agencies for large businesses.

[0008] When the sellers employ third party agents or agencies orindependent creative or management personal to assist in their marketingefforts even greater demands are placed upon those within the sellerorganization that are responsible for selecting, contracting with, andthen coordinating the efforts of those entities. The process ofselection and service negotiations of these entities is difficult forexperienced sellers and seemingly insurmountable for those new to theprocess. Often, substantial time and resources are wasted researchingand making the decision to employ third party professionals. In manycases insufficient research or investigation is done which may lead topoor choices of third party professionals. These delays and frustrationmay lead to snap, late, or ill-informed decisions and the resultingmistakes in the process of improving the sellers' ability to takeadvantage of professional creative or marketing support.

[0009] When created individually by sellers or seller organizations,media presentations may not be standardized in that they do not carryconsistent, up-to-date inventory, pricing, and information for theconsumer. A buyer may find conflicting presentations on differentelectronic or traditional channels or outlets. The management for theadvertising and electronic commerce for many small to mid-size sellersfalls either as additional duties to current staff or as newdepartments. In the media of electronic presentations, the lack ofexperience may result in presentations that are cumbersome, ineffective,or not accessible to the widest range of consumer. Currently, thenon-standardized format for the presentation of products, goods, andservices provides for both the advantage of allowing unlimitedcreativeness in presentation and the disadvantage, in inexperiencedhands, of not delivering the most effective and motivating salesmessage. In many cases, this lack of standardization appropriate to eachand every venue or media outlet may result in the presenting of goodsand services in a way that does not entice the buyer to make a purchase.

[0010] When sellers or seller organizations need outside creative ormarketing professionals to create or manage their media presentationsthe communications with and management of that resource can be timeconsuming and labor intensive. The needs, concepts, goals, and resourcesof the seller must be communicated and reconciled with the capabilitiesand availability of the desired professionals. It is not unusual formany potential matches of sellers and professional to be tried before atruly compatible match is found thereby not only wasting the time of theseller and the professionals but the potential market time that cannever be recovered regardless of cost. One of the reasons for thedifficulty in shopping for the creative and marketing professionals isthe lack of a consolidated marketplace where comparisons between thoseprofessionals and their offered products and services can be made. Thecurrent invention allows those comparisions to be made in a structuredmanner controlled by the operators of the current invention.

[0011] In the prior art, electronic Internet and Intranet presentationsare developed either as static files that require constant and laboriousmanual updating or as dynamic (database-driven)

[0012] Although the dynamic presentations require less labor to produceand update, the various Internet or Intranet search or retrievalprograms do not generally read or index them because of their “dynamic,database-driven” nature. This fact alone substantially reduces theireffectiveness in reaching the most motivated buying public because thosepresentations are largely invisible to the wide range of automatedsearches conducted by potential buyers. With either design choice,substantial cost is experienced for the small to mid-size seller, eitherin the form of labor intensive presentation methods or in lost salesopportunity, which can never be recovered.

[0013] The electronic Internet malls and electronic directories,although generally much better staffed and able to produce effectivelydesigned and edited content to motivate the buyer, suffer in part fromthe same dilemma. They are still faced with the same no-win choicebetween the labor intensive creation and placement for each presentationthat gets the maximum visibility to the search methods of potentialbuyers and the easier database-driven presentation which get minimalvisibility. One of the disadvantages to the advertising client of theseelectronic directories is that they find themselves publishing the sameinformation in multiple directories or indexes as well as in their ownstand-alone presentations in order to obtain the maximum coverage foraccess to the buying public. This supervision of multiple presentationsis a control and management problem that is very costly and inefficientfor the seller.

[0014] Some small to mid size sellers may not have the internal creativeresources to take advantage of the marketing potential that the internetoffers and in most cases must contract with outside creative and ormanagement resources to get the most out this new media. Making thesechoices and controlling these creative and or management Internetresources poses the same problems and difficulties as dealing withtraditional media as well as the additional technical problemsassociated with the Internet media. Many times the creation of advancedor cutting edge Internet commerce solutions and presentations are bestperformed by programmers and professionals in those areas.

[0015] Electronic malls and electronic directories also experience ahigh ratio of cost to generated income associated with sales, billing,and collections. The clients of these electronic malls and directoriesare typically contracted for some period of time and then billed forthat period of time during the contract period.

[0016] Currently, the sale of tickets, passes, admission documents, orreserved services is performed in a variety of ways that require thebuyer to either call the agent or seller, contact a third-party seller,have a specific ID for that venue or event, or make the purchaseelectronically using a network presentation of some kind, usually theInternet. Upon the sale of those tickets, passes, admission documents,or reserved services, the transaction requires, or, would be enhancedby, the physical delivery of those proofs of purchase. In the priorstate of the art, proof of purchase must be picked up at some physicalfacility or point of sale when the tickets, passes, admission, orreserved services are purchased. Or, they must be delivered via mail orone of the overnight services, delivered by courier, or picked up on a“will call” basis at the facility, site, business, or venue. Or, theymust be a member and a holder of a specific ID used by that Seller ofgoods or services. All of these methods, at the very least, createadditional inconvenience for the Buyer, requiring either travel time,waiting in lines, applying for and receiving specific ID card, or theuncertainty of last-minute delivery. In many cases where last-minutepurchase decisions are made, there is additional expense to either theBuyer or Seller to insure timely delivery. In prior art, if the buyer isa existing member of an organization that issues special single purposeID cards, the buyer may apply for and use that special single purpose IDcard for access. This forces the buyer to have an individual access IDfor each service that he wishes to periodically use.

[0017] In regards to the Resource Saver Protocol, prior art requires amessage to be recorded and sent for each and every transaction(purchase) at a resource cost for each transaction or transmission. If aSeller has inventory on multiple electronic sites or channels, each andevery site must be updated and adjusted on an individual basis,one-by-one manually. It must be noted that prior art does not evencommunicate in an automated two-way method. This means that in manycases, the Seller has to receive the transmission of sale, record theinventory change manually onto his management or accounting software,and then update each and every place where this inventory is offered forsale. Through prior art, buyers and sellers often experience mistakes inover-selling or overbooking products, goods, or service because of thedelays of manual updating.

SUMMARY

[0018] The invention allows sellers to present their inventory,products, goods and services in a choice of one or a variety ofsupported media outlets: in print, such as newspapers, magazines,periodicals, guidebooks, catalogs, brochures, fliers, and directories;in electronic form, such as online directories, web sites, bulletinboards, news groups, CD-ROMs, and interactive media and networks; and inother media, such as billboards, skywriters, bus benches, radio,interactive kiosk and any other form of customer outreach or informationdistribution. When these media choices are made, the present inventionprompts the seller for information that is then used in the creation ofpresentations for the media outlets he has chosen. The PresentationRules Database holds all the criteria, formatting architecture, anddistribution factors for each participating media outlet. The presentinvention's Presentation Generation Program, along with the PresentationRules Database, then creates a presentation for each and every mediaoutlet the seller has chosen. The Presentation Generation Program theneither transmits the presentation to the appropriate destination orholds it for a publication date to be submitted for a particulardeadline or predetermined promotional market.

[0019] The seller can then print out a report that shows him eachpresentation, distribution or media outlet, and the pricing of eachmedia choice for an overall marketing valuation.

[0020] The present invention allows the Seller to update, change,control inventory, and automatically process sales either from hisin-house or third party accounting or management software that has acompatible communication component with the present invention or in thepresent invention. He can accomplish this updating and inventory controlto all media outlets simultaneously.

[0021] The present invention also allows for the selection of thirdparty creative and management professionals by allowing the seller toreview presentations of those professionals as well as samples of theirwork. The presentations of these professionals may show theirqualifications, background, a general sales pitch about themselves andtheir services, pricing, limitations, terms and conditions, and anyother information necessary or desirable to allow the seller to make ainformed decision. The intent of this process is to create a comparisonshopping environment that allows the sellers to make informed choices asto these additional creative and management resources. These third partyprofessionals may be of any legal business entities such as, but notlimited to, individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships, limitedpartnerships, or corporations. These third party professionals may offertheir services in any legal manner such as independent contractors,employee, service contract, supply contract, sale of services, sale ofcontent or products, retention of services, contract, or any othermethod of attaining the services of those Third Party Professionals. Theseller may compare the information about those professionals presentedas well as submit inquires directly to them or request estimates, bids,or proposls for specific services that they may offer or specificservices that the seller may request. Once a professional is selectedand their services are negotiated for, the invention facilitates thecommunication and creative process to allow both parties to select andcomplete the desired media presentation as efficiently as possible. Thisefficiency of professional selection and creative process will allowsellers that would not normally be able to retain professionalassistance to obtain it through the invention. This same efficiency willallow those sellers that already use professional third party creativeor management resources to do so with even better results and possiblyat lower cost. This category of Creative and Management Third PartyProfessionals may also serve those entities that provide products orcontent to sellers in efforts to create presentations. Firms that supplystock photos for use in presentations or firms that sell promotionalproducts to sellers, would be two examples of product oriented Creativeand Management Third Party Professionals.

[0022] The invention is a method and apparatus that allows for thecreation of presentations for the commerce of products, goods andservices for any and all size of business; the accessibility of thosepresentations to a vast population of the buying public both in print,electronic, interactive electronic, and other media; the sale,reservation, and purchasing of those products, goods and services; theconfirmation of these purchases and reservations through a Network ID orconfirmation system; and the management of inventory control throughmultiple media outlets while saving resources of processing,transmission, and communications.

[0023] The invention is a method and apparatus that allows for thecreation of presentations that comply with the design and architecturalrequirements of any and all participating media. This is applicable toall media either in print, such as newspapers, magazines,advertisements, guidebooks, directories, fliers, and brochures; andelectronic media, such as online directories and malls, web sites,bulletin boards, news groups, CD-ROMs, and interactive media andnetworks; and other media, such as billboards, skywriters, bus benches,radio, interactive kiosk, and any other form of customer advertising,outreach, or information distribution. These presentations can beupdated for either presentation content or inventory control in nearreal time, by either manual or automatic means, via electronic messageunits from third-party management or inventory control software.Electronic presentations created can be either static open-access ordatabase driven dynamic server presentations. Where appropriate, thesepresentations allow for the sale of products, goods, or services and forthe making of payments by buyers. Inventory adjustments for production,sales, and other reasons are made in near real time, allowing for anaccurate presentation of availability of inventory to buyers. Thepresent invention allows for lower cost to management when used with allmedia outlets by creating a self-serve, automated billing environmentfor the seller's creation and display of presentations.

[0024] The invention is a method and apparatus that allows for selectionof, and the contracting with or employing of, third party creative andmanagement professionals by sellers. The invention allows these thirdparty professionals to create, develop, and manage any participatingmedia presentation either independent of, or in conjunction with, inputfrom the sellers. Sellers may choose the level of third partyprofessional participation in the process. This may range from noparticipation, to very little participation (as in the sale of a productsuch as stock photos or providing ad copy only), to allowing completecontrol of both the creative and management process of the mediapresentations (where the third party professional is appointed the agentof the seller) with only review and oversight chosen by the seller. Theinvention allows for the third party professional to contract with orpurchase products or services from other third party professionalswithin the invention. Where needed or desired by the sellers, theinvention allows for the third party professionals to collaborate onpresentations or specific services. This collaboration may take placebetween the seller and one or more third party professional or betweentwo or more third party professionals. This ability for third partyprofessionals to collaborate on providing products or services that maybe beyond the normal ability or capability of the single third partyprofessional, will allow them to access a portion of the market thatthey have not previously been able to access. In addition, the abilityof the seller to access an environment where third party professionalcan collaborate to provide the requested goods and or services will givethat seller many more choices that would normally not be available. Inregards to the third party professional, the present invention providesa negotiation environment that allows the products or services needed bythe seller, in their efforts to create and manage their media venuepresentations, to be purchased or retained as needed on a self servebasis. The invention allows this range of services provided by thirdparty professionals to be negotiated by the sellers and thoseprofessionals.

[0025] The invention is a method and apparatus that allows for thecreation of both static and dynamic Internet and Intranet presentationsfor the sale of products, goods, and services to be accessible to themaximum number buyers and the interactive purchase of those products,goods and service. The present invention is a method and apparatus thatallows buyers to purchase products, goods and service electronically andreceive confirmation of that purchase.

[0026] The invention allows for the verification and substantiation ofthe purchase of access or admission to those services or events thattraditionally have controlled access by means of tickets, passes,admission documents, reservations, reservation confirmations, or othersubstantiation at the facility, site, business, or venue. The inventionprovides several methods for the buyer to provide an ID at the time ofpurchase, which is then transmitted electronically to the facility,site, business, or venue. That buyer Network ID is then confirmed by thefacility, site, business, or venue by means of readers or scanners ofthe magnetic, smart, or optical ID cards or by other electronic meanswhen biometric authentication is required. This confirmation mayautomatically result in the printing of the tickets, passes, admissiondocuments, reservation confirmations, or other documents required foradmittance or in the automatic and immediate physical admittance of thebuyer or ID holder.

[0027] The present invention allows for both complete inventory controland management and the global updating and accessibility of real-timeand time-sensitive inventory while saving communication resources andtime for any and all businesses that sell products, goods, and servicesregionally or world-wide. The invention allows for a substantialreduction of the communications and computer resources necessary tocontrol and coordinate the availability, presentation, and sales ofcommon, unique, or time-sensitive products, goods, and services. Thepresent invention allows for the sales process to be adjusted so as tooptimize the communications and computer resources used in relationshipto the sales volume and Seller, Buyer, and usage profiles.

[0028] Objects and Advantages

[0029] Several objects and advantages of the Presentation Generationcomponent of the present invention are:

[0030] To provide an effective system of edit and content control forthe creation and publishing of commercial sales or information-orientedtraditional media and electronic presentations in a cost-effectivemanner for small, medium, and large sellers of products, goods, andservices. This invention improves on the prior art by creating acontrolled, managed environment for the sellers in which to create theirpresentations. This invention automatically applies not only editing,style, graphics, data, and content controls but also designspecification and architectural requirements to the design environmentof all forms of specific member media venues or outlets, both electronicprint and all other media formats.

[0031] To provide an effective system to select, communicate with, andmonitor third party creative and management professionals wherebysellers may review the qualifications of those professionals andcontract for their services. This invention improves on the prior art bycreating a controlled presentation of the qualifications of thoseprofessionals as well as a structured environment for the contractingfor their services. Further improvement on the prior art is obtainedwhen upon contracting for their services the invention provides amanagement or review and oversight system for the seller to more easilywork with, monitor, and measure the results of those professionals.

[0032] To provide an environment where third party professionals maycollaborate to provide the creative or management products or servicesneeded by the sellers to create or manage presentations. This allowsthird party professionals that would not normally be able to handlelarger or complicated products or services to collaborate with others toprovide those products or services to clients that they normally wouldnot be able to assist. In the same fashion the sellers will have agreater choice of who can supply the needed products or services wherefirms may collaborate and then compete for the sellers business.

[0033] To create open-access electronic presentations that can receivemaximum electronic visibility from private, public, or commercial searchalgorithms and commercial search engines and indexes, as well as fromother automated or on-demand computer search systems. This inventionimproves on the prior art by automatically publishing the informationand data received from sellers in an open-access format that is readilyavailable to public automatic search and index programs as well as toon-demand search programs. With this invention, the seller'spresentation can be published in several different directories orindexes, taking on a different style, look, and feel in each as a resultof the automatic restructuring of the data entered by the seller. Thisis accomplished by using different presentation formatting guidelinesand rules for the targeted directories or indexes. This single-entry andautomatically distributed method is more efficient than managing eachdirectory or index individually.

[0034] To allow sellers to create presentations on their computers thatare automatically transmitted to be published and viewed on electronicnetworks and other traditional advertising media. The present inventionpartially resides on the sellers' computers, controls and edits thepresentation, and then automatically transmits that information and datafor publication in traditional media and electronic networks.

[0035] To allow media venues, outlets, vendors, and representativesautomated presentations giving media buyers' self-serve access to theirproducts and services.

[0036] To allow third party creative and management professionals topresent their services to the sellers as well as to contract with thesellers to provide those services. The system and apparatus will alsoprovide an environment for the sellers to work with and supervise thethird party professionals as well as allowing various third partyprofessionals to collaborate on providing services to a given seller.The third party professionals may perform as many or as few of thefunctions of the invention as agents for the sellers, as the sellers'contract allows for them to perform.

[0037] To allow for the automatic publishing or updating ofpresentations within a simple environment that does not requirelower-level coding or formatting of the presentation material. Thepresent invention employs a text-only entry of information and data,thereby not requiring the seller to have knowledge of presentationcomputer codes or low-level formatting.

[0038] To allow for automatic global updating of the description, price,quantity, and availability of products, goods, and services intraditional periodic media or electronic presentations. The presentinvention allows for the direct input of this information as well as forthe automatic transmission of presentation-related data by compatiblethird-party, accounting, inventory control, or other management softwarefor the inclusion or updating of the electronic presentation throughcommon message files read and transmitted by the present invention.

[0039] To allow for the central control and management of presentations,thereby allowing for a greater degree of promotion and flexibility ofthe category or group of products, goods, or services by the controllingserver in order to attract more buyers. The present invention directsall presentations through a central controller, which standardizes thepresentations within the style, editing, and content standards set bythe controller standards for each presentation, directory, or index. Allelectronic interactive presentations are optimized for presentationsearch visibility by the controller and can then be globally refined,based on traffic analysis.

[0040] To provide lower overhead cost associated with sales, billing,and collections for the operators of the present invention. By creatinga self-serve, automated, direct billing environment for the sellers tocreate their presentations in, the operators of the present inventionwill experience substantial savings over traditional sales and billingmethods. Allowing the sellers to create their presentations with acafeteria-style selection and billing that presents all their options,including the associated cost up front, will also result in greateradd-on sales without the associated sales overhead.

[0041] To provide a more efficient environment for Third Party Creativeand Management Professionals to present and market their skills andexpertise to Sellers. The invention will allow Sellers to select andcontract with Third Party Creative and Management Professionals toprovide products, pre-developed or stock content, talent, creative ormanagement, or other necessary or desirable services to the Seller toassist them. The invention also improves the communication between theSeller and any Third Party Creative and Management Professional that theSeller may contract with as well as allowing the Seller a structuredreview and reporting environment for the control and supervision ofthose Third Party Professionals.

[0042] Several objects and advantages of the Resource Saver Protocolcomponent of the present invention are:

[0043] To allow for the presentation of availability of products, goods,and services for sale in a real-time environment without requiringconstant real-time communications during the sales process.

[0044] To allow a substantial portion of the real-time sales to becompleted without the overhead of a concurrent verification process.

[0045] To reduce the necessary processing and communications resourcesused to control inventory presentations of products, goods, andservices.

[0046] To reduce the necessary processing and communications resourcesused to control sales and/or reservations of products, goods, andservices.

[0047] To transfer communications and processing resources to timeperiods of lower utilization of those resources.

[0048] Several objects and advantages of the Network ID and PurchaseVerification System component of the present invention are:

[0049] To allow for the replacement of traditional tickets, passes,admission documents, reservations, reservation confirmations, and othermeans of verification that require prior or “will call” delivery to thebuyer. The present invention improves on the prior art by creating acontrolled universal ID at time of purchase that can be transmitted tothe facility, site, business, or venue to be used for verification ofthe buyer and purchase. This ID can be used for one purchase ormaintained within the network for future use as a permanent ID for thepurchase and access to any facility, site, business, or venue that isrepresented by that instance of the present invention.

[0050] To allow for a more convenient method of purchase of tickets,passes, admission documents, or reserved services, or for the latepurchase of those tickets, passes, admission documents, or reservedservices beyond what would be feasible if physical delivery of theaccess or admission documents were required. The present inventionallows for purchases to be made and buyer IDs to be transmitted to thefacility, site, business or venue within a matter of minutes of thebuyer arriving for admittance. By using an electronic network, Internet,Intranet, or phone service, a buyer could literally make the purchase bylaptop computer with wireless modem or by cell phone from the car on theway to the facility, site, business, or venue for admittance. Theinvention, when used in conjunction with an electronicinventory-available presentation, can allow buyers to become aware ofand take advantage of last-minute cancellations and changes ofavailability.

[0051] The invention reduces labor and material requirements by thesellers of tickets, passes, admission documents, or reserved services.The invention substantially reduces the labor and material requirementfor fulfillment of purchases of tickets, passes, admissions, or reservedservices in several ways. By eliminating the requirement of delivery ofthose documents that allow the buyer admittance, there is no outgoingcorrespondence and/or fulfillment package to prepare. The costsassociated with shipping, tracking, or follow-up on lost items as wellas the customer service costs that accompany late or poorly communicateddelivery instructions are reduced or eliminated. At admission time,additional costs are saved with the full implementation of the presentinvention by the use of automatic vendors that print the admissiondocuments on demand by the buyer and with automated verification of thebuyer's ID. This function replaces the “will call” method of admissiondocument delivery and the associated cost in labor and facilityoverhead.

[0052] Further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuingdescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] It should be noted that some of the drawings within thisapplication have been modified from the original application by deletingor reducing the number shown of some of the multiple instances ofcomponents such as the Seller Interface 4000 on FIG. 1b CIP. Also insome cases symbols of different sizes were used or symbols were moved asfar as their position within the diagrams. This was done only tofacilitate the placement of symbols within the limited space availablewithin the diagram to more clearly diagram the overall function of theinvention. In some cases reduced print size has been employed to allowfor more full and meaningful descriptions to be placed in the availablespace. These deletions or reductions in numbers, or the changing in sizeor position, or the changing or mixing of print sizes, should not beconstrued as reducing the capacity, capability, or function of theoriginal invention or any of its components. These modifications areonly an effort to more clearly diagram and display the structure andfunction of the invention and its newly added and improvedfunctionality.

[0054]FIG. 1a diagrams an embodiment of the present invention with asingle level of service without Independent Directories.

[0055]FIG. 1b diagrams an embodiment of the present invention with asample depth of service of Sellers, Buyers, Presentation and SelectionServers, Independent Presentations, and Media.

[0056]FIG. 2a is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the CentralController and Presentation Processor.

[0057]FIG. 2b is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the CentralPresentation and Selection Server.

[0058]FIG. 2c is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the SellerInterface.

[0059]FIG. 2d is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the BuyerInterface.

[0060]FIG. 2e is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the MediaInterface.

[0061]FIG. 2f is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the ThirdParty Creative or Management Professional Interface.

[0062]FIGS. 3a through 3 k and 3 i-a is a block diagram showing thetransaction processing and buyer's use of one embodiment of the presentinvention. This Example Embodiment of this invention is configured fordelivery of tickets or reservation confirmation.

[0063]FIGS. 4a through 4 g is a block diagram showing the Seller's useof the invention. This Example Embodiment is configured for delivery oftickets or reservation confirmation.

[0064]FIGS. 5a through 5 h is a block diagram showing the Seller's useof the Resource Saver Protocol of the invention. This Example Embodimentof this invention is configured for delivery of tickets or reservationconfirmation.

[0065] Further Breakdown of the block diagrams 5 a through h.

[0066]FIGS. 5a through 5 c is a block diagram showing Seller's Setup anduse of Resource Saver Protocol.

[0067]FIG. 5d is a block diagram showing the Seller's Use ofNotification Level Processing of Resource Saver Protocol at SellerInterface 4000.

[0068]FIGS. 5e through 5 f is a block diagram showing the Seller's Useof Resource Saver Protocol on Central Presentation and Selection Server2000 or Other Selling Outlets.

[0069]FIGS. 5g through 5 h is a block diagram showing the Seller's Useof Resource Saver Protocol for Inventory Adjustment or Replacement.

[0070]FIGS. 6a through 6 g is a block diagram showing the Media's use ofthe invention in conjunction with the supported.

[0071]FIGS. 7a through 7 g is a block diagram showing the Third PartyCreative or Management Professionals' use of the invention.

[0072]FIGS. 8a through 8 e is a block diagram showing the Seller's useof the invention in conjunction with the supported Third Party Creativeor Management Professionals.

[0073] Patent Application Glossary

[0074] The following are explanations and or definitions of names ordescriptors as used in the invention. For the purpose of this inventionthe following terms have the following definitions. These are meant toaid the reader in understanding the inventors' descriptions of thepresent invention and its components, design, use, and purpose.

[0075] 3^(rd) P.P.

[0076] See the “Third Party Professionals” or “Third Party Creative andManagement Professionals” within this Glossary. Due to spacerestrictions within the drawings and specifications that make up a partof this application the proceeding references have be abbreviated to3^(rd) P.P.

[0077] Advertising

[0078] Any presentation or effort to inform or influence targetdemographics or the general public. This includes all media types andmethods such as but not limited to audio and visual, print, electronic,multimedia etc.

[0079] Algorithm

[0080] The method or logic that performs given functions within aprogram. Typically can be described as a series of information access,comparisons, decisions, choices, and resulting outputs.

[0081] Automatic Searches

[0082] These arc information text-based searches that are conducted oftargeted Internet or Intranet sites on a page-by-page basis using eitherthe information contained within the meta tags of each HTML page or fulltext searches of all content.

[0083] Automatic Vendors

[0084] Machines that read or scan the Delivery or Network ID Cards,access a database of Buyer information for confirmation of ID, and thendispense a custom printed ticket, pass, admission document, orreservation confirmation showing the appropriate access information. Thetickets, passes, admission documents, reservations, or reservationconfirmations could then be processed with normal procedures.

[0085] Biometric identification

[0086] Identification that is accomplished by using an individualsdistinctive natural biological differences, such as finger prints, irisscans, full face scans, voice prints, DNA etc.

[0087] Buyer

[0088] Any person, corporation, partnership, group, or any other legalentity that desires or may desire or consume the purchase, reservation,acquisition, consumption, of items, services, or ideas offered by theSeller either paid for or as a gratuity.

[0089] Central Controller

[0090] Refers to the Controller part or function of the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000

[0091] Central Processor

[0092] The CPU or main processing computer chip or unit within a givencomputer. Depending on the operating system a computer must have one butmay have more than one CPU thereby increasing the processing speed ofthe computer.

[0093] Client Channel

[0094] Means, outlet, or avenue of advertising, marketing, distribution,or sales.

[0095] Cookies

[0096] Information formatted to be delivered or downloaded to theInternet Browser utilized by the Buyer Interface 5000, stored on theData Storage Device 5500 within the Location for Cookie Storage 5695,and then accessed later by that Internet Browser. This information wouldthereby provide a carryover of information such as Buyer preferences.

[0097] Database

[0098] The term Database is used referring not only to the structured orrelational storage of data within files, but also to the tables or subdivisions of data storage within those databases or files or any methodor system of organizing data for storage and access by computers. Withinsome areas of the specifications and drawings the term “Database” may beabbreviated as “DB”.

[0099] Directory

[0100] A consolidation, accumulation, or compilation of similar,competing, or complementing “Sellers” (see above) that are offered orpresented in some logical or systematic presentation allowing “Buyers”(see above) to review, compare, and contrast the offerings orpresentations. These directories may or may not allow for direct accessor interactive sales or acquisition. These directories may be in anymedia such as, but not limited to, electronic, Internet, Intranet,CD-ROM, or print.

[0101] Dynamic Presentations

[0102] These are presentations that are created when the reader orviewer accesses them. They are typically created in response to queriesor actions of the reader or viewer and are generated from databaseinformation that resides at the server that is being accessed. (See“Static Presentations”)

[0103] Editorial and Design Standards

[0104] These are the editorial, design, and style guidelines, standards,restrictions, and other specifications that are specific to each mediavenue that control the look and content of all presentations within thatmedia venue.

[0105] Electronic Directory

[0106] Internet, Intranet, or bulletin board based directories orindexes focusing on narrow based collections of sellers, suppliers,vendors, purveyors, or providers of goods, products, services,information, ideas, etc.

[0107] Electronic Mall

[0108] A collection of electronic directories, indexes, “Sellers” (seeabove), or other Internet or Intranet sites at one place.

[0109] Fixed Inventory

[0110] Refers to Inventory that is limited and constant in itsavailability. One example might be rooms in a hotel. If the hotel has300 identical rooms, then the fixed inventory is 300 units for each dayinto the future that the hotel is open for business. Adjustments can bemade for units taken off line or made not available for maintenance etc.but rooms cannot easily be added.

[0111] Given Instance

[0112] For the purpose of this application the term “Given Instance”refers to a single particular established configuration of the presentinvention that has been designed to serve a defined demographics ofBuyers and/or Sellers. A single copy of the present invention would bean instance of the present invention.

[0113] Goods

[0114] Merchandise or wares that are to be sold or transferred.

[0115] Identification Documents

[0116] Any artificial method of specifically Identifying an individualsuch as Credit Cards, Drivers License, Identification Cards, MembershipCards, and Academic Identification Cards etc. These documents may beread magnetically, optically or in some other manner to allow forverification.

[0117] Independent Presentations Directories and Indexes

[0118] Those directories and indexes, operated by management other thanthat of a given instance of the present invention, that have associatedthemselves with one or more Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 of the present invention for the purpose of utilizing the contentand interactive services of those Central Presentation and SelectionServers 2000.

[0119] Index

[0120] Same as “Directory” but with less information or materialpresented for the “Buyer.”

[0121] Internet Browser

[0122] Any Client-side program that resides on the Buyer Interface 5000to facilitate the reading and or viewing or pages or presentations onthe Internet or Intranet. Typically pages or presentations are based onthe HTML display language or one of its successors or derivatives forpresentations. Examples of Browser software are Netscape, InternetExplorer, etc.

[0123] Inventory

[0124] Refers in a very broad and general sense to any identifiablemeasure, item, or unit that can be sold, transferred, conveyed, orreserved. The term inventory can apply to goods, products, services,reservations for services, or any other identifiable unit to be sold,conveyed, or reserved. Units of Inventory may actually be a function oftime with the same item being used over and over such as a room in alodging facility, a seat in a sports stadium, or a table at arestaurant.

[0125] Inventory Substitutability

[0126] Inventory (defined above) is used in a very broad sense. Thesubstitutability of those items that make up any given line of inventorybeing offered within the present invention may not always be clear.Though not always clear, the substitutability of the inventory must bedetermined and represented by the Seller, who has the clearestunderstanding of the makeup of the Buyer and their use of the goods,products, and services. If the inventory were a one-of a-kind item,obviously there can be no substitutability and the inventory is unique.At the other extreme, for example, if the inventory were music CDs, with1,000,000 copies in stock and another printing anticipated, then theinventory is common and substitutable. In between the extremes is a widevariety of items that are limited in quantity or availability and yetare substitutable. An example of an item that is limited in availabilityand is substitutable to the Buyer is rooms of a 100-room block at ahotel that are of the same standard (king bed, TV, phone, and desk).Although the rooms are not identical (as the CDs are) due to being ondifferent floors and having different views, they are substitutable tothe traveler.

[0127] Media

[0128] A means of communicating, delivering, or projecting concepts,ideas, or information to potential buyers, such as radio, television,newspapers, magazines, internet, Intranet, CD-ROMs, directories,brochures, flyers, billboards, bus benches, sky writers, direct mail orany other method or means of reaching a large number of people or asmaller number of targeted potential buyers or consumers.

[0129] Media Venues or Media Outlets

[0130] Those physical or virtual locations where presentations areplaced or made available to present the information within the frameworkof the media so that it is accessible by the end users, consumers,viewers, or Buyers. This may mean an Internet directory, a newspaper, amultimedia CD-ROM, a travel guidebook, or any number of other examples.

[0131] Near Real Time

[0132] Refers to processing or access that takes place within a timeframe that allows for some possibility that human interaction or otherprocess may intercede or interpret that processing or access. For thepurpose of this application, Near Real Time is referring to processingor access that take place within time limits that are unlikely to allowinterruptions in the normal course of business. As an example, if youhave a process that takes place randomly 15 times per day and eachprocess takes within 1 minute due to communications delays, thelikelihood of an interruption is approximately 1 chance in 1440 perevent.

[0133] Network or Delivery ID

[0134] Magnetic, smart, or optical identification cards approved for usewithin the preferred embodiment of the present invention asidentification, or biometric identification, that is used assubstitution for the delivery of traditional tickets, to access tofacilities, events, or venues.

[0135] Network of Computers

[0136] Two or more computers that may communicate either continuously oron-demand for the purpose of sharing processing, transferringinformation and data.

[0137] Non-Resident Media

[0138] Refers to media that is not wholly owned or controlled by themanagement, operators, or affiliates of the given instance of thepresent invention but are contracted for, designed, submitted, andcontrolled through the given instance of the present invention.

[0139] On-Demand

[0140] Functions, programs, or resources that are called or utilizedwhen needed as opposed to being employed, engaged, or utilizedcontinuously.

[0141] Presentation

[0142] Any content intended to inform or influence the viewers orreaders of a given media venue. It may be in an advertising, publicservice, editorial, informational or any other format. It may be text,graphics, audio, multimedia, or a combination of any communicationmethods.

[0143] Products

[0144] Items that are manufactured, assembled, processed or created bythe Seller and offered for sale or transfer.

[0145] Publishing

[0146] The act of placing or making available the presentation orinformation within the framework of media venue so that it is accessibleby the end users, consumers, viewers, or Buyers. This may mean placingan HTML page on an Internet directory, printing a 12-word classified adin a newspaper, adding a hotel presentation to a multimedia CD-ROM orguidebook, or any number of other examples.

[0147] Reader or viewer client

[0148] The reader or viewer client is the program that computer usersuse when accessing electronic information servers. The most common ofthese reader or viewer clients are Netscape Navigator and InternetExplorer, which are Internet Browsers.

[0149] Real-Time

[0150] Refers to processing, communications, information transfer, oraccess that takes place within fractions of a second so that it ishumanly impossible to discern, intercede or interpret that processing,communications, information transfer, or access. (See “Near Real Time”.)

[0151] Resident Media

[0152] Refers to media that is wholly owned or controlled by themanagement, operators, or affiliates of the given instance of thepresent invention.

[0153] Replaceable Inventory

[0154] This is inventory that can either be purchased, manufactured,produced, or added to easily by the Seller thereby changing theinventory count and availability to the Buyer at any given time.

[0155] Reservation

[0156] A promise or commitment made by the Buyer and held by the Seller,to take, use, consume, utilize, attend, or enjoy a unit of inventory.Usually reservations are made by Buyers to reserve a time and facilityto consume goods, products, or services.

[0157] Seller

[0158] A person, corporation, partnership, group, or any other legalentity that desires representation of its goods, products, services,reservations for services, ideas, views, or any legal intent or desireto be made public and offered for sale, exchange, trade, or distributioneither paid for or free.

[0159] Seller Type

[0160] Refers to a category of Sellers that are offering comparable orsimilar information, products, or services classified by that type ofinformation, product, or service.

[0161] Static Presentations

[0162] Presentations that are fixed in time as to the content that theydisplay or convey to the client reader or viewer. They are created andthen set into a presentation framework that can be accessed. Thesepresentations are currently the most familiar to all of us now and arethe standard presentations on the Internet or most Intranets. (See“Dynamic Presentations”)

[0163] Third Party Professionals or Third Party Creative and ManagementProfessionals or Creative and Management Third Party Professionals

[0164] This refers to those professional individuals as well as businessentities that traditionally create and manage advertising, either inwhole or in part for sellers, or supply content, products and servicesto those that create and manage advertising. Some of the titles or jobdescriptions of these professionals are art director, copy writers,photographers, print producers, broadcast producers, photographers,graphic artist, media director, etc. Some firm types are advertisingagencies, public relation firms, marketing firms, stock photo supplycompanies, promotional products supply companies, contract copy writers,etc. The previous list of individual titles or job descriptions andfirms types is only a small sampling of those that would fit within thiscategory of Third Party Creative and Management Professionals which isintended to accommodate and provide access to any personal or companyresource that the Sellers may need or desire to create and managepresentations. These resources are intended to provide assistance to theSellers in all phases of the process of creation and management ofpresentations. The type of goods, products, and services supplied bythese Third Party Creative and Management Professionals is intended tobe of very wide range. These goods, products, and services may vary fromstrictly consulting advice as to the choice of media venues, to customcreative content supply such as copy writing, to products such as stockphotos that are added to the presentations, to the promotional productcompanies that supply coffee cups with logos. (Note: The term 3^(rd) P.Pmay be used within the text or drawings in place of the more descriptiveterm defined here of “Third Party Professionals” or “Third PartyCreative and Management Professionals”. This usage is purely for theconvenience of space and there is no difference between the terms.)

[0165] Transaction Message

[0166] Any unit of information that is transferred or communicatedbetween clients, components, or programs of the present invention orthird-party compatible clients, components, or programs.

[0167] Services

[0168] Duties or work offered to be performed for the buyer or consumer,often but not necessarily specialized or professional in nature.

[0169] Standalone Presentations

[0170] Refers to independent presentations that are not part oforganized Directories or Indexes of complementing and/or competingproducts or services.

[0171] Traffic

[0172] Generally refers to the number of times users access Internet orIntranet sites or presentations. More specifically, traffic refers tohow many times Buyers access an electronic presentation directory,index, server, or instance of the present invention.

[0173] Transmission Level

[0174] One of the variables set within the Resource Saver Protocol foruse with common inventory. A predetermined number of units that triggersthe immediate transmission of inventory sold or reserved. This count isthe total inventory sold or reserved within the Transaction Messages,that are being held awaiting transmission from the Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000 or any other sales outlet to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000.

[0175] Transmission Time Control

[0176] One of the variables set within the Resource Saver Protocol foruse with common inventory. Transmission Time Control is a setting thatcontrols the time of transmission for held transaction messages from theCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000 or any other sales outletto the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000

[0177] Transaction Period

[0178] One of the variables set within the Resource Saver Protocol foruse with common inventory. A setting to control the maximum period inhours that the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 or anyother sales outlet may hold transaction messages prior to transmittingthem to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000.

[0179] Will Call

[0180] The act of, or a reference to, the picking up of tickets, passes,admission documents, reservations, or reservation confirmations or otheraccess documents from a particular department of a venue for the purposeof being admitted to an event at that venue.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0181] It should be noted that although specific hardware or softwarecomponents may be referenced within this detailed description, newer,improved, or successor generations of given hardware or software shouldbe substituted as available to increase reliability, performance, orcost effectiveness or to take advantage of new or replacementtechnology.

[0182] The method and apparatus of the present invention will bediscussed with reference to FIGS. 1a, 1 b, 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, and 2 eand 2 f. In one embodiment, the present invention includes a CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000, Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000, Seller Interface 4000, Buyer Interface 5000, andMedia Interface 6000, and Third Party Professional Interface 7000. Eachof these components includes hardware, software programs, databases,communications programs and devices. The present invention edits andstructures data and information from an individual seller, at a singlelocation, into consistent, designed and controlled presentations. Theseller, at their option, may utilize the invention to retain, employ,contract with, or purchase content or goods from Third Party Creative orManagement Professionals. These professionals may perform a variety ofdirect or indirect functions or services to the seller or supply contentor goods. The range of services can be from the simple supplying ofstock photographs to the complete conception, creation, and executionwith follow up marketing study of a total or product specific marketingcampaign for the seller. The invention allows the seller to appoint aThird Party Professional as their agent to facilitate the implementationof presentation creation or publishing within the invention. As theiragent the Third Party Professional would have the ability to makedecisions and commit the seller in all aspects of the invention. Theinvention provides an interactive interface between the seller and thoseThird Party Creative or Management Professionals retained, employed, orcontracted with, by the seller. This interface allows the seller and oneor more Third Party Creative or Management Professionals to efficientlycooperated in providing the requested services, products, or goods tothe seller. Any actions that are taken by a Third Party Professional asagent for the benefit of a seller can be tracked and or approved by thatseller. This tracking and or approval allows for the checks and balancesthat are necessary so that the seller can maintain control of theiragents actions taken within the framework of the invention. This allowsthe seller to monitor the progress of any content development forpresentations as well as the execution of the advertising and marketingplan. These presentations can be simultaneously published or displayedin a variety of traditional and electronic media as chosen by the Sellerthrough the Seller Interface 4000 or by an agent of the Seller throughthe Third Party Professional's Interface 7000. The presentations canalso be integrated into interactive sales-enabled stand-alonepresentations or as unified presentations of complementing and orcompeting products, goods, and services. In addition, the presentinvention allows buyers to purchase, commit to purchase, or reserveproducts, goods, and services in a real-time or near real-timeenvironment. This also allows, where appropriate, for an alternative tothe advance physical delivery of tickets, passes, admission documents,reservations, reservation confirmations, or other physical methods ofcontrolling access or proving purchase or reservation. The presentinvention also allows sellers to control inventory of common, unique, ortime-sensitive products, goods, and services with reduced computer andcommunications resources while decreasing the time necessary for buyersto confirm the availability and then confirm the reservation, purchase,or commitment of purchase of that inventory. The interactive portion ofthe present invention enables the buyer to view or compare the products,goods, and services from a single source or a variety of sellers andthen purchase or reserve those products, goods, and services in a realor near real-time environment. Where appropriate, in an embodiment ofthe present invention, access to events, venues, reserved services, andother access controlled products or services can be accomplished withoutthe requirement of delivery for any tickets, passes, admissiondocuments, reservations, reservation confirmations, or other accessdocuments.

[0183] Design and Structure of the Present Invention

[0184] The design and structure of the first embodiment of the methodand apparatus of the present invention is diagramed with reference toFIG. 1a, 1 b, 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d, and 2 e, and 2 f. Shown in FIG. 1a,the components of the present invention are presented as a “1 each”single-level diagram of the interaction between the components. Thecomponents are the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000,the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000, Seller Interface4000, Buyer Interface 5000, and Media Interface 6000, and Third PartyProfessionals' Interface 7000. Sub components of Seller Interface 4000are Seller 4000A as client, Seller Accounting or Management Program4000B, and Optional On Site Verification of Purchase Magnetic, OpticalCard Reader or Biometric ID Reader with Ticket or Confirmation Printer4350. Sub components and events of Buyer Interface 5000 are Buyer 5000Aas client and Buyer Arrives at Facility or Event for Admission orCheck-in 5000B as an event. Sub components of Third Party Professionals'Interface 7000 are Third Party Professionals' 7000A as client, and ThirdParty Professional Accounting or Management Program 7000B

[0185] Communication between the components is accomplished by use ofon-demand, direct dial-up public phone lines, network, or Internetconnection between Seller Interface 4000, Media Interface 6000, ThirdParty Professionals' Interface 7000, and Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000; standard Internet connections between BuyerInterface 5000 and Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000; and ahigh-speed network or Internet connection between Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 and Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000. Connections between components may be accomplished by anycombination of public switched phone network, cellular, PersonalCommunication System, dedicated data lines, microwave, private network,shared data network, satellite network, or any other means that willprovide data transfer. Seller Interface 4000, Media Interface 6000,Third Party Professionals' Interface 7000, and Buyer Interface 5000represent components that are limited in number only by the capacity ofboth the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 and CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 and the associatedcommunications and data transfer methods. The present invention allowsfor the modular expansion of capacity by duplicating any component orportions of a component requiring additional capacity and running thenew component in parallel with the original existing component. In theembodiment, there is one Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 and at least one Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000;however, the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 cansupport more than one Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000. Anexample of this embodiment is shown on FIG. 1b. The Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 and the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 are separate but co-located in the embodiment,however, they could be remotely located with a high-speed dataconnection. Both the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000and the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 could alsocoexist on the same computer in some specific low traffic or lowtransaction volume embodiments. In the embodiment, multiple SellerInterface 4000, Independent Presentation 3000, Media Interface 6000,Third Party Professionals' Interface 7000, and of course Buyer Interface5000 are served, with the only limitations being the capacity of theassociated processing, data storage, and communications hardware thatcan, as indicated above, be expanded.

[0186]FIG. 2a diagrams the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000, which includes a central processor (CPU) 1100, operating system1210, ROM 1220, RAM 1230, clock 1240, communication ports 1250, videodriver 1260, network interface card 1270, video monitor 1310, inputdevices 1320, modem pool 1330, network interface 1340, and data storagedevice 1500.

[0187] A personal, workstation, or server-grade computer with sufficientprocessing capacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory maybe used as a Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000. The CPU1100 may be a single CPU or multiple CPUs as necessary to providesufficient processing capacity. The Intel Pentium II Processor with aspeed of 300 MH or any comparable capacity processor that is compatiblewith the chosen operating system could be used as CPU 1100. In theembodiment of the present invention, the operating system 1210 should beone that allows for multiple processors, such as Windows NT byMicrosoft, so that increases in utilization of the present invention canbe handled with increases of processing capacity. The video monitor 1310is a standard “SVGA” color monitor or its equivalent. The input devices1320 are a standard keyboard and mouse or other replacement items. Thecommunication ports 1250 are RS232 serial ports with 16550 UART oralternatives that provide comparable connections to the Modem Pool 1330.The Modem Pool 1330 may be made up of modems such as the US Robotics 56Kexternal made by 3Com Inc or any high-grade multi-modem equivalent. TheModem Pool 1330 should be made up of a sufficient number of modems tohandle both incoming and outgoing messages from the Seller Interface4000 using on-demand modem communications. If a given instance of thepresent invention generates sufficient modem traffic, the Modem Pool1330 and its overhead and functions may be separated from the CentralController and Presentation Processor and placed in a Modem Server tohandle the Modem Pool 1330 and the associated communications overhead.

[0188] The data storage device 1500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, magnetic tape, or other data storage devices. It mustbe of sufficient capacity to store all the programs and data necessaryfor the present invention as well as provide for future capacity needs.In the embodiment, mirrored hard disks with separate hard diskcontrollers provide a redundancy of data storage and therefore increaseddependability and data integrity. This configuration allows for easierrecovery in case of data corruption or data storage equipment failure.The aforementioned Windows NT operating system allows for this mirroredconfiguration. In addition to the mirrored hard disk, daily or morefrequent backup of all data to tape, which is then taken off-site forstorage, is a required procedure to ensure safe data. The presentinvention has a degree of data security built into it by design, withthe most critical data kept with both the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 and the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 FIG. 2b. In a catastrophic destruction of either the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 or the Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000 FIG. 2b, the most critical data can berecovered from the surviving component in order to rebuild the lost dataand ensure the integrity of all transactions.

[0189] The data storage device 1500 in the embodiment of the presentinvention contains relational databases controlled and managed bydatabase software such as Microsoft SQL Server 7 by Microsoft Inc. Dataused in the client control, the generation of presentations, and theprocessing of inventory sales in the present invention are containedwithin the Controller Databases 1600. The Controller Databases are theBuyer Database 1610, Transaction Database 1620, Media TransactionDatabase 1625, Third Party Professional Transaction Database 1626,(3^(rd) P.P. Transaction DB), Seller Database 1630, Media Database 1635,Third Party Professional Database 1636 (3^(rd) P.P. Database),Presentation Database 1640, Presentation Rules Database 1650, InventoryDatabase 1660, Referral Database 1670, the Presentation LocationDatabase 1680, and any other databases necessary or desired to servicethe Buyers and Sellers.

[0190] The Buyer Database 1610 maintains data on Buyers who makeinteractive purchases or reservations of the products, goods, orservices offered by the Sellers over the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 FIG. 2a or other Independent PresentationDirectories and Indexes 3000 FIG. 1b. The Buyer Database 1610 will havedata fields containing Buyer name, network or delivery ID, physicaladdress, phone, email address, credit card information, and any otherinformation deemed necessary to support the Buyers and the Seller'srequired buyer information. The Buyer has the option to input theinformation when joining the network prior to attempting a purchase. Asan alternative, the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 willprompt the Buyer for the information after the Buyer has found a desiredproduct, good, or service to purchase but before forwarding the purchasetransaction to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor.

[0191] The Media Buyer Database 1615 maintains data on Media Buyers(Sellers) who make selections and purchases of media products orservices offered by the Media through the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 and the Seller Interface 4000. The MediaBuyer Database 1615 will have data fields containing Media Buyer name,physical address, phone, email address, credit card information, and anyother information deemed necessary to support the Media Buyers and therequirements of the Media.

[0192] The Transaction Database 1620 maintains data on the Buyers'interactive purchases or reservations of products, goods, or servicesoffered by the Sellers over the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 FIG. 2b or other Independent Presentation Directories andIndexes 3000 FIG. 1b. The Transaction Database 1620 will have datafields containing information that relates to the purchases orreservations made by the Buyer. The specific fields within theTransaction Database 1620 will depend on the type of Seller and theirproduct, goods, or service, but would always contain the field for thepurchase or reservation tracking ID. As an example, if an embodiment ofthe present invention were configured to present lodging facilities, theTransaction Database 1620 might contain fields for Buyer ID, room typeor specific room, bed type, check-in date, check-out date, number ofadults, number of children, smoking or nonsmoking, room rate paid, taxespaid, responses to requests, and any special requests such as extrapillows, late check-in, airport pickup service, etc. The information inthe Transaction Database 1620 is the result of each requested purchasemade with the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 FIG. 2b,which is then passed to the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 and then to the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c.

[0193] The Media Transaction Database 1625 maintains data on theSellers' interactive purchases of non-resident media presentationsoffered by the management or operators of that given instance of thepresent invention through the Seller Interface 4000. The specific fieldswithin the Media Transaction Database 1625 will depend on the type ofmedia. As one example, if the non-resident media were a newspaper, theMedia Transaction Database 1625 might contain publishing deadlines,placement or section requirements, rate paid, taxes paid, and any otherinformation necessary to support that given media.

[0194] The Third Party Professional Transaction Database 1626 (3^(rd)P.P. Transaction DB) maintains data on the Sellers' interactivepurchases of Creative and Management Third Party Professionals goods andservices offered within the given instance of the present inventionthrough the Seller Interface 4000. The specific fields within the ThirdParty Professional Transaction Database 1626 (3^(rd) P.P. TransactionDB), will depend on the type of Third Party Professionals that arerepresented. As one example, if the Third Party Professional is a stockphoto supply source, the Third Party Professional Transaction Database1626, (3d P.P. Transaction DB) might contain photo identification,specifications on each photo, prices, requirements or restrictionsagreed to for each photo, seller identification, and any otherinformation necessary to support the transactions made by the sellerwith that Third Party Professional stock photo supply source. In anotherexample if the Third Party Professional is an Ad Copy Writer then the3^(rd) P.P. Transaction DB might contain the results of a questionnairerequired by the Ad Copy Writer to assist in writing the Ad, paymentinformation, proof of contract agreement, required completion dates, orother information as required.

[0195] The Seller Database 1630 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Sellers who have created presentationsfor traditional media or offer their products, goods, and servicesinteractively over the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 orother Independent Presentation 3000 FIG. 1b. The specific fields withinthe Seller Database 1630 will cover all necessary information on theSeller for use both within the presentations created and by the managersof the present invention for the management of the Seller's account. TheSeller Database 1630 will have data fields containing company name,contact name, marketing name, physical address, phone, email address,credit card or other payment information, contract dates, product orreservation types for presentation, data transfer modem numbers,third-party accessible management software, and any other informationfields deemed necessary to support the proposed sellers. The seller willinput this information when first accessing the present invention andjoining as a Seller. The Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c, specifically theConfiguration and Presentation Program 4715 FIG. 2c, will prompt theSeller for the necessary information as well as obtain an agreement to acontract for the services of the present invention and the distributionand payment of all presentations.

[0196] The Media Database 1635 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Non-Resident Media organizations thathave contracted with the management or operators of the given instanceof the present invention to offer their services to the Sellers that areassociated with the given instance of the present invention. The MediaDatabase 1635 will have data fields containing company name, contactname, marketing name, physical address, phone, email address, contractdates, data transfer modem numbers, third-party accessible managementsoftware, and any other information fields deemed necessary to supportthe Non-Resident Media.

[0197] The Third Party Professionals Database 1636 (3^(rd) P.P.Database) will have data fields containing information that relates tothe Third Party Professionals organizations that have contracted withthe management or operators of the given instance of the presentinvention to offer their services to the Sellers that are associatedwith the given instance of the present invention. The Third PartyProfessionals Database 1636 will have data fields containing companyname, contact name, marketing name, physical address, phone, emailaddress, contract dates, contract details, required contracts oragreements, required data, demos or samples of services or productsoffered, data transfer modem numbers, and any other information fieldsdeemed necessary to support the Third Party Professionals.

[0198] The Presentation Database 1640 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Seller's choice of media or venues aswell as the presentation of their products, goods, or services offeredto the Buyers. This information is the majority of the data that, whencombined with portions of the information within the Seller Database1630 and the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and processed through thePresentation Generation Program 1710, creates the presentations that aretransmitted to the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 forpresentation to the Buyer or to other non-resident media to bepublished. The data fields held by Presentation Database 1640 will varyfrom seller type to seller type, depending on the design of thepresentations and the types of resident and non-resident media offeredby the given instance of the present invention. As an example, if anembodiment of the present invention were configured to present lodgingfacilities, the Presentation Database 1640 might contain fields forfacility description, facility photos, room descriptions, room photos,facility amenities, room amenities, room service menu, payment typesaccepted, meeting and reception services offered, meeting rooms, photosof meeting rooms, policies, rates, special package offers, media orvenue choices, and any other information to assist in the presentationand sale of the lodging. The Seller Interface 4000, specifically theConfiguration and Presentation Program 4715 FIG. 2c, will prompt theSeller for the necessary information for the presentations andnon-resident media they have selected. The data relationship between thePresentation Database 4640 FIG. 2c, which is a part of the SellerInterface 4000 FIG. 2c, and the Presentation Database 1640 is one ofcontinual synchronization of the Seller's information. The Presentationand Configuration Program 4715 FIG. 2c and the Communication andTransport Program 4760 maintain that synchronization. The Seller makesany updates or corrections to the presentation within the Presentationand Configuration Program 4715 FIG. 2c, which then updates thePresentation Database 4640 FIG. 2c. The Communication and TransportProgram 4760 FIG. 2c sends those updates or corrections to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 for updating to thePresentation Database 1640. The Presentation Generation Program 1710 inconjunction with the Presentation Database 1640 then creates the new orupdated presentations for publishing on the Central Presentation andSelection Servers or the appropriate non-resident media.

[0199] The Presentation Rules Database 1650 will have data fieldscontaining information that controls and limits the style and editing ofthe presentations created by the Presentation Generation Program 1710.The Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 administrator ormanagement of that given instance of the present invention inputs thisinformation based on the types of media and interactive presentationsthat are supported by that given instance. For the non-resident mediacomponents of the present invention this information is submitted andupdated directly by means of the Media Interface 6000 and specificallythe Media Configuration Program 6715. The data fields held by thePresentation Rules Database 1650 will vary from seller type to sellertype, as well as from one media type to another, depending on the designof the presentations. Some of the fields that might be maintained arepresentation templates; blocked words; blocked phrases; blockedreferences; presentation cost and options; publication dates anddeadlines; blocked URLs; grammar guidelines; spelling dictionaries;presentation size restrictions; photo or graphics specifications such assize, compression, and file format; and any other guidelines,benchmarks, or controlling algorithms. The data within the PresentationRules Database 1650 will be synchronized with the Presentation RulesDatabase 4650 FIG. 2c stored on the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c. Thissynchronization will take place by the sending of updates from theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 to the Presentationand Configuration Program 4715 FIG. 2c, which then updates thePresentation Rules Database 4650.

[0200] The Inventory Database 1660 will have data fields containinginformation that monitors and controls the inventory of products, goods,and services offered for sale by the Sellers within the interactivesales portion of the present invention. The data fields held by theInventory Database 1660 will vary from seller type to seller type,depending on the type of products, goods, or services that are beingsold or reserved. As an example, if an embodiment of the presentinvention were configured to present lodging facilities, the InventoryDatabase 1660 might contain fields for Buyer ID, types of rooms, numberof rooms available for each type, blocked rooms, blocked dates, roomrates, exception date rates, and any other fields necessary to presentand control that room inventory. The Inventory Database 1660 will alsohave data fields containing information that monitors and controls theinventory of products, goods, and services offered for sale by the ThirdParty Creative and Management Professionals within the interactive salesportion of the present invention. In the case of the Third PartyCreative and Management Professionals the sales are made to the Sellers,who are clients of the same instance of the invention, as opposed to theInventory sold by the Sellers that is being sold to the general publicbuyers.

[0201] The Media Inventory Database 1665 (optional) will have datafields containing information that monitors and controls the mediainventory offered by the Non-Resident Media to the Sellers. The datafields held by the Media Inventory Database 1665 (optional) will varyfrom media seller type to media seller type, depending on the type mediasupported by the given instance of the present invention. As an example,if an embodiment of the present invention were configured to offer agiven newspaper as a Non-Resident Media the Inventory Database 1665(optional) might contain fields for number display ads available persize, number of classified lines available, number of color pagesavailable, and any other fields necessary to present and control thatmedia inventory.

[0202] The Referral Database 1670 will have data fields containinginformation from the Sellers that refers Buyers to other sources of thesame products, goods, or services offered when a given Seller cannotmeet the wishes or needs of the Buyer. The information within theReferral Database 1670 is provided by the Seller through prompting bythe Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 FIG. 2c. Thisinformation is intended and designed to provide the Buyer withalternative sources when the products, goods, or services offered by theSeller interactively are either not available or do not meet the needsof the Buyer. The data fields held by the Referral Database 1670 willvary from seller type to seller type, depending on the type of products,goods, or services that are being sold or reserved. As an example, if anembodiment of the present invention were configured to present lodgingfacilities, the Referral Database 1670 might contain fields for otheralternative accommodations, alternative dates, or alternative lodgingfacilities. An embodiment of the present invention configured to presentprofessional services might contain alternative professionals orassociates that might be acceptable to the Buyer. This same ReferralDatabase 1670 will also maintain the referrals as recommended by theCreative and Management Third Party Professionals within the Third PartyProfessional Interface 7000. These referrals provide an importantfeature in aiding the Seller seeking assistance from any given ThirdParty Professional. The referral directs the Seller to another ThirdParty Professional provider that meets the approval of the professionalfrom which they sought assistance, thereby giving some assurance ofcontinuity of service or quality from the one desired by the Seller tothe one available.

[0203] The preferred embodiment of the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 has a Presentation Generation Program 1710,Transaction Processing Program 1720, General Management Program 1730,Communication and Transport Program 1760, Third Party ProfessionalsManagement Program 1780, Media Generation Program 1790, Third PartyProfessionals Generation Program 1795, and other programs as necessary.

[0204] The Presentation Generation Program 1710 utilizes the informationsubmitted by the Sellers and or their Third Party Professional agentsand held in the Presentation Database 1640, Inventory Database 1660, andSeller Database 1630. The Presentation Generation Program 1710 usesthese databases to create the requested presentations for the variousdesired resident or nonresident media as well as those presentationsnecessary for the interactive Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 with its interactive sales presentations, using the PresentationsRules Database 1650 for style and control guidelines. It should be notedthat in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the samerules and guidelines contained in the Presentation Rules Database 1650are also held where appropriate in the Presentation Rules Database 4650FIG. 2c, which is part of the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c andPresentation Rules Database 7650 of the Third Party ProfessionalInterface 7000 FIG. 2f. With the same rules and guidelines as those inthe Presentations Rules Database 1650 applied and enforced during datainput at the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c module, or the Third PartyProfessional Interface 7000 FIG. 2f no modification or editing should benecessary at the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000module. Although the same rules and guidelines are applied and enforcedat Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c module as at the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 module, both processes should be utilized toensure consistency and quality control. After the initial setup andpublishing, the Presentation Generation Program 1710 automaticallyre-creates presentations either in the event of changes to the data forthe Seller which affect any given presentation or upon the addition ordeletion of any Seller. While creating or updating the Sellers'presentations, the Presentation Generation Program 1710 will determinewhich portions of the general presentation framework and structure onthe overall directory or index require updating and republishing. Thisdetermination is made on a case-by-case basis for each nonresident mediapresentation requested by the Seller as well as for any interactivepresentation on the Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 FIG.2b. This embodiment of the present invention allows the Seller todetermine the urgency of original or revised publishing ofpresentations, depending on the media and the accessibility ofrepublishing. With the present invention, there are two publishinglevels of processing. With the choice of “Urgent Publishing,” thePresentation Generation Program 1710 would immediately process andpublish the Seller's presentation to those non-resident media or CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 that are accessible forupdating, but the Seller would be surcharged for this service. TheSeller's second choice is “Standard Publishing,” which does not carry asurcharge. This “Standard Publishing” would be performed in the normalschedule of publishing for the non-resident media. “Standard Publishing”for any Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 presentationswould be done when the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 and the Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 FIG. 2b areat their lowest processor and network loads in handling the Buyers'requests and transactions. This economic choice gives a solution to theSeller who truly requires an immediate publishing of data whileencouraging the bulk of the publishing to be done during times with lessprocessor load. In this embodiment of the present invention, thePresentation Generation Program 1710 would be set to immediately processany “Urgent Publishing” request and any associated required structures.All other “Standard Publishing” would be processed as a batch at apreset low-traffic or low-utilization time for the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 and the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 FIG. 2b. In this embodiment, the CentralController and Presentation Processor processes the publishing functionin the following order: all new Sellers' presentations, all Sellers'updates, then all associated structure and presentation frameworks.

[0205] The Presentation Generation Program 1710 is also responsible forthe creation of the presentations for Third Party Professionals.Although the processing of these presentations is similar to theprocessing of the Seller's presentations there is one main difference.The Third Party Professional presentations are only presented to theSellers who are part of the specific instance of the present invention,where as, the Seller through the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c hasaccess to all the Media Venues represented by the instance of thepresent invention. This does not preclude the Third Party Professionalsfrom assuming the position and benefits for a Seller within the specificinstance of the present invention. In that case the Third PartyProfessional would install the Third Party Professional Interface 7000FIG. 2f and then install the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c to then beable to take advantage of the Media Venue access available through thatSeller Interface 4000. Based on the presentation from the Third PartyProfessional, the Presentation Generation Program 1710 will determinewhich portions of the general presentation framework and structure onthe overall directory or index require updating and republishing. Thisdetermination is made on a case-by-case basis for each presentationrequested by the Third Party Professional as well as for any interactivepresentation on the Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 FIG.2b. This embodiment of the present invention allows the Third PartyProfessional to determine the urgency of original or revised publishingof presentations. With the present invention, there are two publishinglevels of processing. With the choice of “Urgent Publishing,” thePresentation Generation Program 1710 would immediately process andpublish the Third Party Professional's presentation to the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 and any other locations beingserviced and that are accessible for updating. The Third PartyProfessional's second choice is “Standard Publishing.”This “StandardPublishing” would be performed in the normal schedule of publishing.“Standard Publishing” for any Central Presentation and Selection Server2000 presentations would be done when the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 and the Central Presentation and SelectionServers 2000 FIG. 2b are at their lowest processor and network loads.This economic choice gives a solution to the Third Party Professionalwho truly requires an immediate publishing of data while encouraging thebulk of the publishing to be done during times with less processor load.

[0206] With this embodiment of the present invention, the TransactionProcessing Program 1720 is responsible for processing the transactionmessages of all interactive sales and/or reservation of products, goods,or services offered by the Sellers and all media selections made by theSellers from the offerings by the resident and non-resident media. TheTransaction Processing Program 1720 is also responsible for processingthe transaction messages of all interactive sales and/or reservation ofproducts, goods, or services offered by the Third Party Professionals(through the Third Party Professional Interface 7000 FIG. 2f). Thesesales and/or reservations are made only between the Third PartyProfessionals (as sellers) and the Sellers (as buyers of Third PartyProfessionals) of the specific instance of the present invention and notto the general public.

[0207] The Transaction Processing Program 1720 confirms availableinventory and rates/pricing, updates any other Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000 FIG. 2b and Independent Presentations Directoriesand Indexes 3000 FIG. 1b if necessary, updates databases, and createsand sends the transaction message to the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2cor when appropriate to the Third Party Professional Interface 7000 FIG.2f. The transmission of transaction messages from the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 to the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c orThird Party professional Interface 7000 FIG. 2f takes place immediatelyupon processing, as there is no provision for holding those messages atthis level. New Media presentation selections of the non-resident mediaofferings made by the Sellers are processed immediately upon receivingthem from the Seller Interface 4000 and are sent to the Media Interface6000.

[0208] With this embodiment of the present invention, the GeneralManagement Program 1730 is responsible for the business accounting,billing and collections, reporting, trend analysis, general Sellermaintenance, and any other necessary functions.

[0209] Within this embodiment of the present invention, theCommunication and Transport Program 1760 monitors, directs, and controlsthe receiving and transmitting of messages between the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000, Seller Interface 4000 FIG.2c, and the Media Interface 6000 FIG. 2e.

[0210] With this embodiment of the present invention, the Third PartyProfessional Management Program 1780 is responsible for the businessaccounting, billing and collections, reporting, trend analysis, generalThird Party Professional maintenance. In instances of this presentinvention where Third Party Professionals are not supported or presentedto the Sellers this program may not be necessary. It is for this reasonthat these functions, that support the Third Party Professionals are setapart within their own program as opposed to being combined within theGeneral Management Program 1730.

[0211] Within this embodiment of the present invention, the Third PartyProfessionals Management Program (3^(rd) P.P. Management Program 1780)controls the contracting of Third Party Professionals as well ascontrolling, monitoring, and facilitating the interaction between theSellers and any Third Party Professionals that they may contract with.This program allows the sellers to contract with Third PartyProfessionals that may provide creative or management services. Theextent of the services provided may range from consulting the Seller oncreative or management issues to becoming the agent of the seller andassuming full control of creative or management issues, or all facets ofthe Seller's current presentation efforts or all ongoing efforts withinthe scope of the invention. The Third Party Professional may performtheir services in collaboration with the Seller using the invention toprovide the interface and structure of the communication between the twoor as a agent making independent actions within the invention with onlymonitoring being done by the seller.

[0212]FIG. 2b diagrams the Central Controller and Presentation Processor2000, which includes a central processor (CPU) 2100, operating system2210, ROM 2220, RAM 2230, clock 2240, video driver 2260, video monitor2310, input devices 2320, network interface 2340, and data storagedevice 2500.

[0213] A personal, workstation, or server-grade computer with sufficientprocessing capacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory maybe used as a Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000. The CPU2100 may be a single CPU or multiple CPUs as necessary to providesufficient processing capacity. The Intel Pentium II Processor with aspeed of 300 MH or any comparable capacity processor that is compatiblewith the chosen operating system could be used as CPU 2100. Theoperating system 2210 should be one that allows for multiple processors,such as Windows NT by Microsoft, so that increases in utilization of thepresent invention can be handled with increases of processing capacity.The video monitor 2310 is a standard “SVGA” color monitor or itsequivalent. The input devices 2320 are a standard keyboard and mouse orother replacement items or methods.

[0214] The data storage device 2500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, magnetic tape, or other data storage devices. It mustbe of sufficient capacity to store all the programs and data necessaryas well as provide for future capacity needs. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, mirrored hard disks with separate hard diskcontrollers provide a redundancy of data storage and therefore increaseddependability and data integrity. This configuration allows for easierrecovery in case of data corruption or data storage equipment failure.The aforementioned Windows NT operating system allows for this mirroredconfiguration. In addition to the mirrored hard disk, daily or morefrequent backup of all data to tape, which is then taken off-site forstorage, is a required procedure to ensure safe data.

[0215] The data storage device 2500 in this embodiment of the presentinvention contains relational databases controlled and managed bydatabase software such as Microsoft SQL Server 7 by Microsoft Inc. Thedata used in the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 and inthe processing of inventory sales in the present invention is containedwithin the Presentation and Selection Server Databases 2600. ThePresentation and Selection Server Databases are the Buyer Database 2610,Transaction Database 2620, Final Presentation Database 2645, InventoryDatabase 2660, Referral Database 2670, and any other databases necessaryor desired to service the Buyers and Sellers.

[0216] The Buyer Database 2610 maintains data on Buyers who makepurchases or reservations for the products, goods, or services offeredby the Sellers over the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000or other Independent Presentation Directories and Indexes 3000 FIG. 1b.The Buyer Database 2610 will have data fields containing Buyer name,network or delivery ID, physical address, phone, email address, creditcard information, and any other information deemed necessary to supportthe Buyers and the requirements of the proposed Sellers. The Buyer hasthe option to input the information when joining the network prior toattempting to make a purchase or reservation. As an alternative, theCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000 will prompt the Buyer forthe information after the Buyer has found a desired product, good, orservice to purchase, but before forwarding the purchase transaction tothe Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. Theinformation contained in the Buyer Database 2610 is synchronized withthat in the Buyer Database 1610 FIG. 2a on the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. It should be noted that if anembodiment of the present invention is configured with more than oneCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000 and is controlled by asingle Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 (as in FIG.1b). Then the Buyers represented on each Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 Buyer Database 2610 will be represented on theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 Buyer Database 1610FIG. 2a. However all Buyers on Buyer Database 1610 may not berepresented on each Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 BuyerDatabase 2610. A similar relationship exists between the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 and the Seller Interface 4000in that all Buyers are represented within the Buyer Database 1610 FIG.2a., but only those Buyers that any given Seller has had transactionswith are represented within the Buyer Database 4610 FIG. 2c of any givenSeller. It should also be noted that any given Buyer might choose toutilize any or all Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000controlled by the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000.When this happens, the information contained within the associated BuyerDatabases 2610 would be the same, but the Transaction Databases 2620would be different, because the Transaction Database 1620 FIG. 2arepresents the cumulative transactions made by that particular buyer.

[0217] The Transaction Database 2620 maintains data on the Buyers'purchases of products, goods, or services offered by the Sellers overthe Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 or other StandalonePresentations or Independent Presentation Directories and Indexes 3000FIG. 1b. The Transaction Database 2620 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the purchases or reservations made by theBuyer. The specific fields within the Transaction Database 2620 willdepend on the type of Seller and their product, goods, or service, butwould always contain the field for the purchase or reservation trackingID. As an example, if an embodiment of the present invention wereconfigured to present lodging facilities, the Transaction Database 2620might contain fields for Buyer ID, room type or specific room, bed type,check-in date, check-out date, number of adults, number of children,smoking or nonsmoking, room rate paid, taxes paid, responses torequests, and any special requests such as extra pillows, late check-in,airport pickup service, etc. The information in the Transaction Database2620 is the result of each requested purchase or reservation made withthe Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000; this information isthen passed to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000FIG. 2a and then to the Seller Interface 4000. The relationship betweenthe Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 TransactionDatabase 1620 FIG. 2a and the Central Presentation and Selection Server2000 Transaction Database 2620 is the same as the relationship betweenthe Buyer Database 1610 FIG. 2a and Buyer Database 2610 explained above.

[0218] The Final Presentation Database 2645 will have data fieldscontaining information that relates to the Sellers' presentations oftheir products, goods, or services to the Buyers on this instance of theCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000. This is data that hasbeen designed, edited and created by the Presentation Generation Program1710 FIG. 2a of the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000FIG. 2a and then transmitted to the instance of the Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000 for presentation to the Buyers. The datafields held by Final Presentation Database 2645 will vary from sellertype to seller type, depending on the structure and design of thepresentations. As an example, if an embodiment of the invention wereconfigured to present lodging facilities, the Final PresentationDatabase 2645 might contain fields for combined facility descriptions,room descriptions, facility amenities, room amenities, payment typesaccepted, meeting rooms, policies, and any other information to assistin the presentation and sale of the lodging. These fields, as used inthe lodging example, would contain information for all the lodgingfacilities represented. The Final Presentation Database 2645 is theresult of the information contained within the Presentation Database1640 FIG. 2a processed by the Presentation Generation Program 1710 FIG.2a in conjunction with the information contained in the PresentationRules Database 1650 FIG. 2a. There is no synchronization of this data,as it only exists for the presentations on a given Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000 and is generally not transferable to otherCentral Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 due to differingpresentation designs and structures. However the Presentation GenerationProgram 1710 FIG. 2a, using the Presentation Rules Database 1650 FIG. 2aand the Presentation Location Database 1680 FIG. 2c to identify andcreate the differing presentations, maintains the control of the variouspresentation designs and structures.

[0219] The Inventory Database 2660 will have data fields containinginformation that monitors and controls the inventory of products, goods,and services offered for sale by the Sellers. In the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the Inventory Database 2660 issynchronized with the Inventory Database 1660 FIG. 2a and the SellerAccounting or Management Program 4000B FIG. 2c depending on theinventory type (see discussion on Resource Saver Protocol). TheInventory Database 2660 can also be used as an alternative to SellerAccounting or Management Program 4000B with the optional InventoryDatabase 4660 FIG. 2c. The data fields held by the Inventory Database2660 will vary from seller type to seller type, depending on the type ofproducts, goods, or services that are being sold or reserved. As anexample, if an embodiment of the present invention were configured topresent lodging facilities, the Inventory Database 2660 might containfields for Buyer ID, types of rooms, number of rooms available for eachtype, blocked rooms, blocked dates, exception date rates, and any otherfields necessary to present and control that room inventory.

[0220] The Referral Database 2670 will have data fields containinginformation, from the Sellers and from the input of the management ofthe given instance of the present invention. This data refers Buyers toother sources of the same products, goods, or services offered when agiven Seller cannot meet the wishes or needs of the Buyer. Theinformation within the Referral Database 2670 is synchronized with theReferral Database 1670 FIG. 2a. See discussion of Referral Database 1670FIG. 2a for reasons and origin of data.

[0221] The preferred embodiment of the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 has a Transaction Negotiation Program 2725,Presentation Server 2740, Selection Server 2750, and other programs asnecessary.

[0222] Within the embodiment of the present invention, the TransactionNegotiation Program 2725 is responsible for the negotiations andprocessing of all sales and/or reservation of products, goods, andservices.

[0223] The Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 of the CentralPresentation and Selection Server 2000 negotiates the interactivetransaction with the Buyer. The program facilitates the transaction bypresenting products, goods, services, offerings, options, add-on items,rates or prices, availability, alternatives or discounts in response tounavailable or denied requests, and other choices to assist the Buyer inmaking the purchase transaction. During the transaction negotiations,the inventory is held or reserved for that particular Buyer. If theBuyer does not complete the purchase or reservation, the inventory ismade available once again. Once the Buyer makes a purchase orreservation decision, the inventory is deemed sold and taken off theavailable inventory list, and the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725transmits a transaction message to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 for confirmation and processing. Thistransmission either takes place immediately or on a delayed or batchbasis depending on the type of inventory being sold or reserved and thesettings entered by the Seller. The Transaction Processing Program 1720FIG. 2a of the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG.2a performs some of the same functions and calculations as theTransaction Negotiation Program 2725 of the Central Presentation andSelection Server when it receives the transaction message. Thisduplication serves as both a check of the processes and a validation ofthe transaction message. It should be noted that although theTransaction Negotiation Program 2725 is referred to as a program, in theembodiment of the present invention it is a collection of programs,procedures and functions that work with the Selection Server 2750 toprovide the selection and negotiation environment in which the Buyer canpurchase or reserve the products, goods, or services.

[0224] The Presentation Server 2740 is a fully functioning Internet orIntranet Web server. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the Internet Information Server by Microsoft is thePresentation Server 2740. The Presentation Server 2740 performs thefunction of controlling the Buyers' access to the Sellers' presentationsthrough the Internet or Intranet. The Presentation Server 2740 is ableto allow access either with or without login and password control (inthe embodiment of the present invention, no password control is used).The Presentation Server 2740 would allow full access to the Open AccessPresentations 2810 without restrictions.

[0225] The Selection Server 2750 is a fully functioning Internet orIntranet Dynamic Page Server. This is a server or server component thatallows for presentations to be made based on the actions of the user andthe functions or algorithms of the presentation designer or programmer.In this embodiment of the present invention, the server component,Active Server Pages by Microsoft, is added to the Presentation Server2740 to provide this dynamic functionality. The Selection Server 2750provides the control and access to the presentations held within theDynamic Presentations 2820. These presentations are only accessible frompresentations held within Open Access Presentations 2810 and cannot beindependently viewed or accessed.

[0226] The embodiment of the Central Presentation and Selection Server2000 has directory structures Open Access Presentations 2810, DynamicPresentations 2820, and other directory structures as necessary. Notonly do these directory structures provide the physical storage locationfor the presentation files, but they also provide the framework and pathreferences for access to the presentations by using the PresentationServer 2740 and the Selection Server 2750.

[0227]FIG. 2c diagrams the Seller Interface 4000, which includes acentral processor (CPU) 4100, operating system 4210, ROM 4220, RAM 4230,clock 4240, communication ports 4250, video driver 4260, video monitor4310, input devices 4320, modem 4330, network interface 4340, and datastorage device 4500. This embodiment of the present invention would alsoinclude a Magnetic or Optical Card Reader or Biometric ID Device as wellas a Ticket or Confirmation Printer or Admission Control Device.

[0228] A personal, workstation, or server-grade computer with sufficientprocessing capacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory maybe used as a Seller Interface 4000. The CPU 4100 may be a single CPU ormultiple CPUs as necessary to provide sufficient processing capacity.The Intel Pentium II Processor with a speed of 300 MH or any comparablecapacity processor that is compatible with the chosen operating systemcould be used as CPU 4100. In this embodiment of the present invention,the operating system 4210 is Windows NT by Microsoft, although Windows98 by Microsoft should be sufficient in most cases. The video monitor4310 is a standard “SVGA” color monitor or its equivalent, with thisembodiment of the present invention being a 19-inch standard videomonitor. The input devices 4320 are a standard keyboard and mouse orother replacement items. The communication ports 4250 are RS232 serialports with 16550 UART or alternatives that provide comparableconnections to the Modem 4330. The Modem 4330 may be a US Robotics 56Kexternal made by 3Com Inc or a comparable quality modem.

[0229] A data storage device 4500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, magnetic tape, or other data storage devices. It mustbe of sufficient capacity to store all the programs and data necessaryas well as provide for future capacity needs. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, mirrored hard disks with separate hard diskcontrollers provide a redundancy of data storage and therefore increaseddependability and data integrity. This configuration allows for easierrecovery in case of data corruption or data storage equipment failure.The aforementioned Windows NT operating system allows for this mirroredconfiguration. In addition to the mirrored hard disk, daily or morefrequent backup of all data to tape, which is then taken off-site forstorage, is a required procedure to ensure safe data. The presentinvention has a degree of data security built into it by design, withthe most critical data kept with both the Seller Interface 4000 and theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. In acatastrophic destruction of the Seller Interface 4000, the most criticalof data can be recovered from the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 FIG. 2a and allow the rebuilding of the lost databases,thereby ensuring the integrity of all transactions.

[0230] The data storage device in this embodiment contains relationaldatabases controlled and managed by database software such as MicrosoftSQL Server 7 by Microsoft Inc. or, for smaller Sellers, Access 2000 byMicrosoft Inc. Data used in the generation of presentations and for theprocessing of inventory sales in the present invention is containedwithin the Seller's Databases 4600. The Seller's Databases 4600 containsthe Buyer Database 4610, Transaction Database 4620, Seller Database4630, Third Party Professional Database 4636, Presentation Database4640, Presentation Rules Database 4650, Inventory Database 4660,Referral Database 4670, and any other databases necessary or desired toservice the Sellers.

[0231] The Buyer Database 4610 maintains data on Buyers who makeinteractive purchases or reservations of the products, goods, orservices offered by the Sellers over the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 FIG. 2b or other Independent PresentationDirectories and Indexes 3000 FIG. 1b. The Buyer Database 4610 will havedata fields containing Buyer name, network or delivery ID, physicaladdress, phone, email address, credit card information, and any otherinformation deemed necessary to supported the Buyers and therequirements of the Seller. The information within the Buyer Database4610 is contained in transaction messages received from the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a along with thepurchase information of a given transaction.

[0232] The Transaction Database 4620 maintains data on the Buyers'interactive purchases or reservations of products, goods, or servicesoffered by the Sellers over the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 FIG. 2b or other Independent Presentation Directories andIndexes 3000 FIG. 1b. The Transaction Database 4620 will have datafields containing information that relates to purchases or reservationsmade by the Buyer. The specific fields within this database will dependon the type of Seller and their products, goods, or services, but wouldalways contain the field for the purchase or reservation tracking ID. Asan example, if an embodiment of the present invention were configured topresent lodging facilities, the Transaction Database 4620 might containfields for Buyer ID, room type or specific room, bed type, check-indate, check-out date, number of adults, number of children, smoking ornon-smoking, room rate paid, taxes paid, and special requests such asextra pillows, late check-in, airport pickup service, etc. Theinformation in the Transaction Database 4620 is the result of eachrequested purchase made with the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 FIG. 2b. This information is then passed, via transactionmessages, to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG.2a and then to the Seller Interface 4000.

[0233] The Seller Database 4630 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Seller. The specific fields within theSeller Database 4630 will cover all the necessary information on theSeller, for use both within the Seller's presentation and by themanagers of the present invention for the management of the Seller'saccount. The Seller Database 4630 will have data fields containingcompany name, contact name, marketing name, physical address, phone,email address, credit card or other payment information, contract dates,product or reservation types for presentation, data transfer modemnumbers, accessible third-party management software, and any otherinformation fields deemed necessary to supported the proposed seller.The seller will input this information when first accessing the presentinvention and joining as a Seller. The Configuration and PresentationProgram 4715 will prompt the Seller for the necessary information aswell as obtain an agreement to a contract for the services of thepresent invention and the distribution and payment of all presentations.

[0234] The Third Party Professional Database 4636 will have data fieldscontaining information that relates to the Third Party Professionalsthat are represented within the instance of present invention. Thespecific fields within the Third Party Professional Database 4636 willcover all the necessary information on the Third Party Professionals aswell as detailed information on their offered products and services.This information is used within the Seller Interface to present thoseThird Party Professionals' products and services and to create aself-serve environment that allows the Sellers to review and retain orpurchase those products and services. The Third Party ProfessionalDatabase 4636 will have data fields containing company name, marketingname, product or service description, prices, use or purchaserestrictions, payment methods accepted, and any other information fieldsdeemed necessary to supported the Third Party Professional that arepresented to the Seller. The information within this database issynchronized with the information contained within the Third PartyProfessional Database 1636 contained within the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a.

[0235] The Presentation Database 4640 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Seller's choice of non-resident media oradvertising channels as well as to the interactive presentation ofinformation and data describing their products, goods, or services forpresentation to the Buyers. The data fields within Presentation Database4640 will vary from seller type to seller type, depending on the designof the presentation and the types of other media offered by the giveninstance of the present invention. As an example, if an embodiment ofthe present invention were configured to present lodging facilities, thePresentation Database 4640 might contain fields for facilitydescription, facility photos, room descriptions, room photos, facilityamenities, room amenities, room service menu, payment types accepted,meeting and reception services offered, meeting rooms, photos of meetingrooms, policies, rates, special package offers, media or advertisingchannel choices, and any other information to assist in the presentationand sale of the lodging. The Configuration and Presentation Program 4715will prompt the Seller for the necessary information for thepresentations desired by the Seller. The data relationship between thePresentation Database 4640 and the Presentation Database 1640 FIG. 2apart of the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2ais one of continual synchronization of the Seller's information. Thesynchronization is maintained by the Presentation and ConfigurationProgram 4715 and the Communication and Transport Program 4760. Theseller makes any updates or corrections to the presentation within thePresentation and Configuration Program 4715. These corrections are thenupdated to the Presentation Database 4640 and sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 for updating to thePresentation Database 1640 FIG. 2a.

[0236] The Presentation Rules Database 4650 will have data fieldscontaining information that controls and limits the style and editing ofthe presentations created by the Seller using the Presentation andConfiguration Program 4715. The data within the Presentation RulesDatabase 4650 will be synchronized with the data within the PresentationRules Database 1650, which is stored on the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. This synchronization will takeplace by the sending of updates from the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a to the Presentation andConfiguration Program 4715. The data fields contained in thePresentation Rules Database 4650 will vary from seller type to sellertype, depending on the types of media and interactive presentations thatare supported by the given instance of the present invention and thedesign of the presentations. Some fields that might be maintained arepresentation templates; blocked words; blocked phrases; blockedreferences; blocked URLs; grammar guidelines; spelling dictionaries;presentation size restrictions; photo or graphics specifications such assize, compression, and file format; and any other guidelines,benchmarks, or controlling algorithms.

[0237] The Inventory Database 4660 will have data fields containinginformation that monitors and controls the inventory of products, goods,and services offered for sale or reservation by the Sellers within theinteractive sales portion of the present invention. In the preferredembodiment of the present invention, the inventory data is maintained bythe Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B. If that softwarecannot communicate or can only communicate partial data with the presentinvention, then the Inventory Database 4660 would be used alone or incombination with the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B,respectively. The embodiment of the present invention communicates withthe Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B for thesynchronization of inventory and other data that can be coordinated. Thedata fields within the Inventory Database 4660 will vary from sellertype to seller type, depending on the type of products, goods, orservices that are being sold or reserved. As an example, if anembodiment of the present invention were configured to present lodgingfacilities, the Inventory Database 4660 might contain fields for BuyerID, types of rooms, number of rooms available for each type, blockedrooms, blocked dates, exception date rates, and any other fieldsnecessary to present and control that room inventory.

[0238] The Referral Database 4670 will have data fields containinginformation from the Sellers that refers Buyers to other sources of thesame products, goods, or services offered when the Sellers cannot meetthe wishes or needs of the Buyers. The Seller through prompting by thePresentation and Configuration Program 4715 provides the informationwithin the Referral Database 4670. This information is intended anddesigned to provide the Buyer with alternative sources when theproducts, goods, or services offered interactively by a given Seller areeither not available or do not meet the needs of the Buyer. The datafields held by the Referral Database 4670 will vary from seller type toseller type, depending on the type of products or services that arebeing sold or reserved. As an example, if an embodiment of the presentinvention were configured to present lodging facilities, the ReferralDatabase 4670 might contain fields for alternative accommodations,dates, or lodging facilities. An embodiment of the present inventionconfigured to present professional services might contain alternativeprofessionals or associates that might be acceptable to the Buyer.

[0239] The programs of the preferred embodiment of Seller Interface 4000are a Presentation and Configuration Program 4715, TransactionProcessing Program 4720, Communication and Transport Program 4760, BuyerAdmission Control Program 4770, Seller Accounting or Management Program4000B, Seller Admission Control Program 4000C, and other programs as maybe necessary or desirable.

[0240] The Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 is both thegateway to the present invention and the controlling software interfacefor the Seller. The Presentation and Configuration Program 4715introduces the Seller to the instance of the present invention andallows the Seller to choose in which presentations and which media oradvertising channels the Seller wishes to participate. The Presentationand Configuration Program 4715 offers the choices of media andpresentations to the Seller, giving requirements and cost for each. Uponchoosing media and presentations, the Seller is then presented with aseries of questions to answer. The answering of these questionscontributes to the Seller Database 4630, Presentation Database 4640,Inventory Database 4660, Referral Database 4670, and any other databasesnecessary. The responses to the questions asked, text entry areas,photos, graphics, and other input, either required or optional, aremonitored by the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 using theinformation within the Presentation Rules Database 4650 to guide theSeller in the creation of a presentation that meets the style,editorial, and content guidelines of that instance of the presentinvention for each media venue or outlet chosen.

[0241] The Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 also allows theSeller to select products and services from those offered by Third PartyCreative and Management Professionals that are associated with the giveninstance of the present invention. This allows the Seller who may nothave the necessary skills to create their desired presentation, may nothave the necessary time, or just wants to out-source part or all of theprocess of creating and managing the desired presentations, to obtainany level of assistance that they may desire. The products and servicesoffered by Third Party Creative and Management Professionals may be asvaried as stock photography for the inclusion in presentations to fullmanagement services from conception to execution for the Seller. Withinthe Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 the Seller may reviewthose products and services with samples and demos as appropriate,review contract terms and requirements, and contract for those productsand services. The information necessary for the Seller's review is drawnfrom the Third Party Professional Database 4636.

[0242] Within this embodiment of the present invention, the TransactionProcessing Program 4720 is not utilized, as its functions are performedby the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B. If there is noSeller Accounting or Management Program 4000B or it is not able tohandle those functions, then the Transaction Processing Program 4720will perform the necessary functions to process the incoming TransactionMessages; update databases; notify Seller of product, goods, or servicessold or reserved; notify Seller of prices or rates paid; perform thenecessary confirmations of available inventory and rates/pricing; createor send confirmation messages to buyer or other requested confirmationmethods; and perform other functions necessary to process the incomingtransaction.

[0243] The Communication and Transport Program 4760 monitors, directs,and controls the receiving and transmitting of messages between theSeller and the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG.2a. During the setup of the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715,the Communication and Transport Program 4760 is initialized and testedwith the Modem 4330 and/or Network Interface 4340. The functions of theCommunication and Transport Program 4760 are largely transparent to theSeller. It should be noted, however, that in this embodiment of thepresent invention, the Seller Interface 4000 should be left on, with theCommunication and Transport Program 4760 running, 24 hours a day, 7 daysa week. This is necessary so that the Transaction Processing Program4720 can receive and process any transaction messages from the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a regardless of thehour of the day.

[0244] The Buyer Admission Control Program 4770 is present and utilizedin the preferred embodiment of the present invention if the Seller'sproducts, goods, or services lend themselves to the type of accesscontrol that has traditionally been accomplished using tickets, passes,admission documents, reservations, reservation confirmations, or otherphysical evidence of purchase or authorization. In this embodiment ofthe present invention, the Buyer Admission Control Program 4770 may bereplaced with Seller Admission Control Program 4000C, a third-partyprogram that is either currently in use or is preferred by the Seller.Normally, communications in the form of admission-controlling messagesmust be from either the Transaction Processing Program 4720 or theSeller Accounting or Management Program 4000B to the Buyer AdmissionControl Program 4770 or the Seller Admission Control Program 4000C,depending upon which software is used. In some instances, however, theSeller Accounting or Management Program 4000B may assume the duties ofthe Seller Admission Control Program 4000C. The Buyer Admission ControlProgram 4770 or the Seller Admission Control Program 4000C uses theinformation in the Buyer Database 4610 to confirm the admission oraccess of a given Buyer who is physically at the Seller's facility,site, business, venue, or other physical location seeking access. Inthis embodiment of the present invention, the information from the BuyerDatabase 4610 is confirmed by use of a magnetic or optical card readerportion of the Optional Magnetic or Optical Card or Biometric ID Device4350 that reads the physical ID or their Biometric ID in the possessionof the Buyer. This physical Magnetic or Optical Card ID is one that waspreviously issued to the Buyer for another use and is currently validfor that use. It could be a standard credit card, association ID, schoolID, credit union ID, a driver's license, or any other “issued ID” thathas been approved for use by the management of any given instance of theinvention. This feature of the invention, of having the latitude toaccept a variety of existing methods of identification, is important inthat it allows the Buyer immediate access without requiring the Buyer tobe processed to obtain a new ID. An example of this use within anembodiment of the present invention would be a “Major Credit Card” thathas agreed to allow its cards to be used as identification for purchaseswithin the invention. An example of this “alternate ID” use would be aninstance of the invention that was established as a “Sports ReservationNetwork”. When the Buyer chooses the event that he wants to attend, hewould enter the number off of his “Major Credit Card” into the BuyerInterface 5000 FIG. 2d. When the Buyer arrived at the Facility or Eventfor Admission or Check-in 4380, the Magnetic or Optical Card Reader 4350would read his “Major Credit Card”. The Magnetic or Optical Card Reader4350, in conjunction with the Buyer Admission Control Program 4770,which draws its information from the Buyer Database 4610, would confirmthe Buyer's admission and send the ticket information to the Ticket orConfirmation Printer or Admission Control Device 4360. The Ticket orConfirmation Printer or Admission Control Device 4360 would either printthe tickets, allowing the buyer to proceed to the standard ticket entrypoint, or trip a physical gate or bar that would allow the Buyer entryto the event (Buyer Allowed Admittance 4370).

[0245] In another example of an embodiment of the invention, themanagement of the invention has chosen to support the BiometricIdentification method for assessing and guaranteeing the identity of theBuyer. With this method, the Buyer is first registered to use theinvention by one of the Sellers who is part of the network and isequipped to perform the appropriate biometric scan. After the Buyerpresents proof of identify, they submit to the biometric scan which isthen transmitted to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor tobecome part of the Buyer's record. The Buyer is given an ID number toallow access to the invention. The next time the Buyer accesses theinvention he can use the ID number to make the purchase and then whenshowing up at that facility his Biometric Scan becomes his ID. BiometricIDs can be any biological feature of the Buyer that is so deemed to besufficiently unique that it can be used as a method of identification.Features such as fingerprints, palm prints, iris scans, voice, andfull-face scans are just some of the currently accepted biometricidentification methods. We believe this list of methods will expand andthat new methods can easily be utilized by an embodiment of thisinvention as they are developed and become available. It should be notedthat the level of certainty necessary for determining identificationusing biometric techniques is obviously lower for use in the presentinvention than the certainty required for other critical applicationssuch as law enforcement or military security access.

[0246] In yet another example of an embodiment of the invention, themanagement of the invention has chosen to support a function to allowBuyers to access their identification documents through the Network incombination with their biometric identification for the purchasing ofgoods and services. In this embodiment the Buyer is allowed to makepurchases of goods and services from those Sellers that supportbiometric identification using only their personal biometricidentification. The charges or payments requested and the biometric IDsubmitted by the Seller are transmitted to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. The Transaction Processing Program1720 verifies the biometric ID with the information held within theBuyer Database 1610. The Transaction Processing Program 1720 furtherverifies that sufficient funds are available for the requestedtransaction, either through third party sources such as theIdentification Documents sponsor or through in-house financing oraccounts. The acceptance or rejection of the transaction is thentransmitted back to the Seller for the Sellers completion of thepurchase or transaction.

[0247]FIG. 2d diagrams the Buyer Interface 5000, which includes acentral processor (CPU) 5100, operating system 5210, ROM 5220, RAM 5230,clock 5240, communication port 5250, video monitor 5310, input devices5320, modem 5330, network interface 5340, and data storage device 5500.

[0248] A personal or workstation computer with sufficient processingcapacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory may be used as aBuyer Interface 5000. The CPU 5100 may be a single CPU. The IntelPentium Processor with a speed of 166 MH or any comparable capacityprocessor that is compatible with the chosen operating system could beused as CPU 5100. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the operating system 5210 is either Windows 95 or Windows 98 byMicrosoft. The video monitor 5310 is a standard 17-inch “SVGA” colormonitor or its equivalent. The input devices 5320 are a standardkeyboard and mouse or other replacement items. The communication ports5250 are RS232 serial ports with 16550 UART or alternatives that providecomparable connections to the Modem 5330. The Modem 5330 may be a modemsuch as the US Robotics 56K external made by 3Com Inc.

[0249] A Data Storage Device 5500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, or other data storage devices. It must be ofsufficient capacity to store the programs necessary to access theSellers' presentations.

[0250] The hardware requirements for the Buyer Interface 5000 areminimal compared to the requirements for the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a, Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 FIG. 2b, and the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c.

[0251] The only software or programs required for the Buyer Interface5000 is an Internet Browser 5000C of the Buyer's choice. In theembodiment of the present invention, Internet Explorer by Microsoftwould be used as Buyer's Choice of Internet Browser 5000C.

[0252] No databases are required for the Buyer Interface 5000. The onlydata storage required is performed by the Buyer's Choice of InternetBrowser 5000C in the form of saving “cookies” in the Location for CookieStorage 5695.

[0253] Although the above has described the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, any Internet-enabled computer, operating system, andbrowser combination that can access the Internet and specificallystandard HTML presentations should be able to serve as the BuyerInterface 5000.

[0254]FIG. 2e diagrams the Media Interface 6000, which includes acentral processor (CPU) 6100, operating system 6210, ROM 6220, RAM 6230,clock 6240, communication ports 6250, video driver 6260, video monitor6310, input devices 6320, modem 6330, network interface 6340, and datastorage device 6500.

[0255] A personal, workstation, or server-grade computer with sufficientprocessing capacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory maybe used as a Media Interface 6000. The CPU 6100 may be a single CPU ormultiple CPUs as necessary to provide sufficient processing capacity.The Intel Pentium II Processor with a speed of 300 MH or any comparablecapacity processor that is compatible with the chosen operating systemcould be used as CPU 6100. In this embodiment of the present invention,the operating system 6210 is Windows NT by Microsoft, although Windows98 by Microsoft should be sufficient in most cases. The video monitor6310 is a standard “SVGA” color monitor or its equivalent, with thisembodiment of the present invention being a 19-inch standard videomonitor. The input devices 6320 are a standard keyboard and mouse orother replacement items. The communication ports 6250 are RS232 serialports with 16550 UART or alternatives that provide comparableconnections to the Modem 6330. The Modem 6330 may be a US Robotics 56Kexternal made by 3Com Inc or a comparable quality modem.

[0256] A data storage device 6500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, magnetic tape, or other data storage devices. It mustbe of sufficient capacity to store all the programs and data necessaryas well as provide for future capacity needs. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, mirrored hard disks with separate hard diskcontrollers provide a redundancy of data storage and therefore increaseddependability and data integrity. This configuration allows for easierrecovery in case of data corruption or data storage equipment failure.The aforementioned Windows NT operating system allows for this mirroredconfiguration. In addition to the mirrored hard disk, daily or morefrequent backup of all data to tape, which is then taken off-site forstorage, is a required procedure to ensure safe data. The presentinvention has a degree of data security built into it by design, withthe most critical data kept with both the Media Interface 6000 and theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. In acatastrophic destruction of the Media Interface 6000, the most criticalof data can be recovered from the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 FIG. 2a and allow the rebuilding of the lost databases,thereby ensuring the integrity of all transactions.

[0257] The data storage device in this embodiment contains relationaldatabases controlled and managed by database software such as MicrosoftSQL Server 7 by Microsoft Inc. or, for smaller Media outlets, Access2000 by Microsoft Inc. Data used in the generation of presentations andfor the processing of inventory sales in the present invention iscontained within the Media's Databases 6600. The Media's Databases 6600contains the Media Buyer's Database 6615, Media Transaction Database6625, Media Database 6635, Presentation Database 6640, PresentationRules Database 6650, Media Inventory Database 6665, and any otherdatabases necessary or desired to service the Media.

[0258] The Media Buyer Database 6615 maintains data on Sellers who makeinteractive purchases of presentations offered by the Media over theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 and the SellerInterface 4000. The Media Buyer Database 6615 will have data fieldscontaining Seller name, physical address, phone, email address, creditcard information, and any other information deemed necessary tosupported the Media Buyers and the requirements of the Media. Theinformation within the Buyer Database 6615 is contained in transactionmessages received from the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 FIG. 2a along with the media purchase information of a giventransaction.

[0259] The Media Transaction Database 6625 maintains data on the MediaBuyers' (Sellers') interactive selection and purchases of presentationsoffered by the Media over the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 and the Seller Interface 4000. The Transaction Database6625 will have data fields containing information that relates to theselection and purchases of presentations made by the Seller. Thespecific fields within this database will depend on the type of Mediaand their products and services. As an example, if an embodiment of thepresent invention were configured to offer newspaper advertising as anon-resident media the Media Transaction Database 6625 might containfields for rates, publishing dates, publishing deadlines, etc. Theinformation in the Media Transaction Database 6625 is the result of eachrequested purchase made with the Seller Interface 4000. This informationis then passed, via transaction messages, to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a and then to the Media Interface6000.

[0260] The Media Database 6635 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Media. The specific fields within theMedia Database 6635 will cover all the necessary information about theMedia, for use both within the Media's presentation and by the managersof the present invention for the management of the Media's account. TheMedia Database 6635 will have data fields containing company name,contact name, marketing name, physical address, phone, email address,payment information, contract dates, product or service types forpresentation, data transfer modem numbers, accessible third-partymanagement software, and any other information fields deemed necessaryto supported the proposed Media. The Media will input this informationwhen first accessing the present invention and joining as a Media. TheMedia Configuration Program 6717 will prompt the Media for the necessaryinformation as well as obtain an agreement to a contract between theMedia and the management or operators of the present invention.

[0261] The Presentation Database 6640 will have data fields containinginformation that relates to the Media's interactive presentation ofinformation and data describing their products or services offered toMedia Buyers (Sellers). The data fields within Presentation Database6640 will vary from Media type to Media type, depending on the design ofthe presentation and the types of other media offered by the giveninstance of the present invention. The Media Configuration Program 6717will prompt the Media for the necessary information. The datarelationship between the Presentation Database 6640 and the PresentationDatabase 1640 FIG. 2a, part of the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 FIG. 2a, is one of continual synchronization of theMedia's information. The synchronization is maintained by the MediaConfiguration Program 6717 and the Communication and Transport Program6760. The Media makes any updates or corrections to the presentationwithin the Media Configuration Program 6717. These corrections are thenupdated to the Presentation Database 6640 and sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 for updating to thePresentation Database 1640 FIG. 2a.

[0262] The Presentation Rules Database 6650 will have data fieldscontaining information that controls and limits the style and editing ofthe presentations to be created by the Sellers using the SellerInterface 4000 and the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 forthis given Media's product or service. The data within the PresentationRules Database 6650 will be synchronized with the data within thePresentation Rules Database 1650, which is stored on the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. This synchronizationwill take place by sending updates from the Media Interface to theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. The datafields contained in the Presentation Rules Database 6650 will vary fromMedia type to Media type, depending on the types of media andinteractive presentations that are supported by the given instance ofthe present invention and the design of the presentations. Some fieldsthat might be maintained are presentation templates; blocked words;blocked phrases; blocked references; blocked URLs; grammar guidelines;spelling dictionaries; presentation size restrictions; photo or graphicsspecifications such as size, compression, and file format; and any otherguidelines, benchmarks, or controlling algorithms.

[0263] The Media Inventory Database (optional) 6665 will have datafields containing information that monitors and controls the inventoryof products and services offered by the Media within the interactivePresentation and Configuration Program 4715 of the Seller Interface 4000of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the Media Accounting or Management Program 6000B maintainsthe inventory data. If that software cannot communicate or can onlycommunicate partial data with the present invention, then the MediaInventory Database 6665 would be used alone or in combination with theMedia Accounting or Management Program 6000B, respectively. Theembodiment of the present invention communicates with the MediaAccounting or Management Program 6000B for the synchronization ofinventory and other data that can be coordinated. The data fields withinthe Inventory Database (optional) 6665 will vary from Media type toMedia type, depending on the type of products, goods, or services thatare being sold or reserved. The reason that the Media Inventory Database6665 is optional is that some media types such as newspaper classifiedads or printed directories such as regional phone directories have noreal limit as to the number or quantity of presentations that they canaccept. Therefore there would be no need to track or control inventory.

[0264] The programs of this embodiment of Media Interface 6000 are;Media Configuration Program 6717, Transaction Processing Program 6720,Communication and Transport Program 6760, Media Accounting or ManagementProgram 6000B, and other programs as may be necessary or desirable.

[0265] The Presentation and Configuration Program 6717 is both thegateway to the present invention and the controlling software interfacefor the Media. The Media Configuration Program 6717 introduces the Mediato the instance of the present invention. The Media ConfigurationProgram 6717 presents the Media with a series of questions to answer.The answering of these questions contributes to the Media Database 6635,Presentation Database 6640, Presentation Rules Database 6650, MediaInventory Database (optional) 6665, and any other databases necessary.The Media Configuration Program 6717 monitors the responses to thequestions asked, text entry areas, photos, graphics, and other input,either required or optional.

[0266] Within this embodiment of the present invention, the TransactionProcessing Program 6720 is not utilized, as the Media Accounting orManagement Program 6000B performs its functions. If there is no MediaAccounting or Management Program 6000B or it is not able to handle thosefunctions, then the Transaction Processing Program 6720 will perform thenecessary functions to process the incoming Transaction Messages. Thesemessages may update databases; notify Media of product, goods, orservices sold or reserved; notify Media of prices or rates paid; performthe necessary confirmations of available inventory and rates/pricing;create or send confirmation messages to buyer or other requestedconfirmation methods; and perform other functions necessary to processthe incoming transaction.

[0267] The Communication and Transport Program 6760 monitors, directs,and controls the receiving and transmitting of messages between theMedia and the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG.2a. During the setup of the Media Configuration Program 6717, theCommunication and Transport Program 6760 is initialized and tested withthe Modem 6330 and/or Network Interface 6340. The functions of theCommunication and Transport Program 6760 are largely transparent to theMedia. It should be noted, however, that in this embodiment of thepresent invention, the Media Interface 6000 should be left on, with theCommunication and Transport Program 6760 running, 24 hours a day, 7 daysa week. This is necessary so that the Transaction Processing Program6720 can receive and process any transaction messages from the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a regardless of thehour of the day.

[0268]FIG. 2f diagrams the Third Party Professionals Interface 7000,which includes a central processor (CPU) 7100, operating system 7210,ROM 7220, RAM 7230, clock 7240, communication ports 7250, video driver7260, video monitor 7310, input devices 7320, modem 7330, networkinterface 7340, and data storage device 7500.

[0269] A personal, workstation, or server-grade computer with sufficientprocessing capacity, program and data storage capacity, and memory maybe used as a Third Party Professionals Interface 7000. The CPU 7100 maybe a single CPU or multiple CPUs as necessary to provide sufficientprocessing capacity. The Intel Pentium II Processor with a speed of 300MH or any comparable capacity processor that is compatible with thechosen operating system could be used as CPU 7100. In this embodiment ofthe present invention, the operating system 7210 is Windows NT byMicrosoft, although Windows 98 by Microsoft should be sufficient in mostcases. The video monitor 7310 is a standard “SVGA” color monitor or itsequivalent, with this embodiment of the present invention being a19-inch standard video monitor. The input devices 7320 are a standardkeyboard and mouse or other replacement items. The communication ports7250 are RS232 serial ports with 16550 UART or alternatives that providecomparable connections to the Modem 7330. The Modem 7330 may be a USRobotics 56K external made by 3Com Inc or a comparable quality modem.

[0270] A data storage device 7500 may be one or a combination ofstandard hard disks, optical storage devices, CD-W drives, CD-RW drives,DVD, flash memory, magnetic tape, or other data storage devices. It mustbe of sufficient capacity to store all the programs and data necessaryas well as provide for future capacity needs. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, mirrored hard disks with separate hard diskcontrollers provide a redundancy of data storage and therefore increaseddependability and data integrity. This configuration allows for easierrecovery in case of data corruption or data storage equipment failure.The aforementioned Windows NT operating system allows for this mirroredconfiguration. In addition to the mirrored hard disk, daily or morefrequent backup of all data to tape, which is then taken off-site forstorage, is a required procedure to ensure safe data. The presentinvention has a degree of data security built into it by design, withthe most critical data kept in both the Third Party ProfessionalsInterface 7000 and the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 FIG. 2a. In a catastrophic destruction of the Third PartyProfessionals Interface 7000, the most critical of data can be recoveredfrom the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a andallow the rebuilding of the lost databases, thereby ensuring theintegrity of all transactions.

[0271] The data storage device in this embodiment contains relationaldatabases controlled and managed by database software such as MicrosoftSQL Server 7 by Microsoft Inc. or, for smaller Third Party Professionalsoutlets, Access 2000 by Microsoft Inc. Data used in the generation ofpresentations and for the processing of inventory sales in the presentinvention is contained within the Third Party Professionals' Databases7600. The Third Party Professionals' Databases 7600 contains the ThirdParty Professionals Buyer's Database 7615, Third Party ProfessionalsTransaction Database 7625, Third Party Professionals Database 7636,Presentation Database 7640, Presentation Rules Database 7650, ThirdParty Professionals' Inventory Database 7666, and any other databasesnecessary or desired to service the Third Party Professional.

[0272] The Third Party Professionals' Buyer Database 7615 maintains dataon Sellers (who are Buyers to the Third Party Professionals) who makeinteractive purchases of products or services offered by the Third PartyProfessional over the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000and the Seller Interface 4000. The Third Party Professionals' BuyerDatabase 7615 will have data fields containing Seller name, physicaladdress, phone, email address, credit card information, and any otherinformation deemed necessary to supported the Third Party Professionals'Buyers and the requirements of the Third Party Professionals. Theinformation within the Third Party Professionals' Buyer Database 7615 iscontained in transaction messages received from the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a along with the Seller' purchaseinformation of a given transaction.

[0273] The Third Party Professionals' Transaction Database 7625maintains data on the Third Party Professionals' Buyers' (Sellers')interactive selection and purchases of products and services offered bythe Third Party Professionals' over the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 and the Seller Interface 4000. The ThirdParty Professionals' Transaction Database 7625 will have data fieldscontaining information that relates to the selection and purchases ofproducts or services made by the Seller. The specific fields within thisdatabase will depend on the type of Third Party Professionals' and theirproducts and services. As an example, if an embodiment of the presentinvention were configured to offer newspaper advertising as anon-resident media, a possible Third Party Professional might be an adcopywriter. In that case the Third Party Professionals' TransactionDatabase 7625 might contain fields for Seller's information (Sellerusing Seller Interface 4000), due dates, target media venues, created adcopy, payment information, reference to the subject presentation withinPresentation Database 1640 within Central Controller and PresentationProcessor FIG. 2a, publishing deadlines, etc. The information in theThird Party Professionals' Transaction Database 7625 is the result ofeach requested purchase made with the Seller Interface 4000. Thisinformation is then passed, via transaction messages, to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a and then to the ThirdParty Professionals Interface 7000.

[0274] The Third Party Professionals' Database 7636 will have datafields containing information that relates to the Third PartyProfessional and the product or service that they offer. The specificfields within the Third Party Professionals' Database 7636 will coverall the necessary information about the Third Party Professional, foruse both within the Third Party Professionals' presentation and by themanagers of the present invention for the management of the Third PartyProfessionals' account. The Third Party Professionals' Database 7636will have data fields containing company name, contact name, marketingname, physical address, phone, email address, payment information,contract dates, product or services offered for sale, data transfermodem numbers, accessible third-party management software, and any otherinformation fields deemed necessary to supported the proposed ThirdParty Professional. The Third Party Professional will input thisinformation when first accessing the present invention and joining as aThird Party Professional. The Third Party Professionals' ConfigurationProgram 7717 will prompt the Third Party Professionals' for thenecessary information as well as obtain an agreement to a contractbetween the Third Party Professionals' and the management or operatorsof the present invention.

[0275] The Third Party Professionals' Presentation Database 7640 willhave data fields containing information that relates to the Third PartyProfessionals' interactive presentation of information and datadescribing their products or services offered to Third PartyProfessionals' Buyers (Sellers). The data fields within Third PartyProfessionals' Presentation Database 7640 will vary from Third PartyProfessionals' type to type, depending on the design of the presentationand the types of services offered by those Third Party Professionals.The Third Party Professionals' Configuration Program 7717 will promptthe Third Party Professionals' for the necessary information. The datarelationship between the Third Party Professionals' PresentationDatabase 7640 and the Presentation Database 1640 FIG. 2a, part of theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a, is one ofcontinual synchronization of the Third Party Professionals' information.The synchronization is maintained by the Third Party Professionals'Configuration Program 7717 and the Communication and Transport Program7760. The Third Party Professional makes any updates or corrections tothe presentation within the Third Party Professionals' ConfigurationProgram 7717. These corrections are then updated to the Third PartyProfessionals' Presentation Database 7640 and sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 for updating to thePresentation Database 1640 FIG. 2a.

[0276] The Presentation Rules Database 7650 will have data fieldscontaining information that controls and limits the style and editing ofthe presentations created by the Third Party Professional using the3^(rd) P.P. Configuration Program 7717. The data within the PresentationRules Database 7650 will be synchronized with the data within thePresentation Rules Database 1650, which is stored on the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a. This synchronizationwill take place by the sending of updates from the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 FIG. 2a to the 3^(rd) P.P. ConfigurationProgram 7717. The data fields contained in the Presentation RulesDatabase 7650 will vary from Third Party Professional type to ThirdParty Professional type, depending on the types of media and interactivepresentations that are supported by the given instance of the presentinvention and the design of the presentations. Some fields that might bemaintained are presentation templates; blocked words; blocked phrases;blocked references; blocked URLs; grammar guidelines; spellingdictionaries; presentation size restrictions; photo or graphicsspecifications such as size, compression, and file format; and any otherguidelines, benchmarks, or controlling algorithms.

[0277] The Third Party Professionals' Inventory Database (optional) 7666will have data fields containing information that monitors and controlsthe inventory of products and services offered by the Third PartyProfessionals' within the interactive Presentation and ConfigurationProgram 4715 of the Seller Interface 4000 of the present invention. Inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Third PartyProfessionals' Accounting or Management Program 7000B maintains theinventory data. If that software cannot communicate or can onlycommunicate partial data with the present invention, then the ThirdParty Professionals' Inventory Database 7666 would be used alone or incombination with the Third Party Professionals' Accounting or ManagementProgram 7000B, respectively. The embodiment of the present inventioncommunicates with the Third Party Professionals' Accounting orManagement Program 7000B for the synchronization of inventory and otherdata that can be coordinated. The data fields within the Third PartyProfessionals Inventory Database (optional) 7666 will vary from ThirdParty Professional type to Third Party Professional type, depending onthe products or services that are being sold or retained. The reasonthat the Third Party Professionals' Inventory Database 7666 is optionalis that some Third Party Professional types such as ad copywriters orelectronic stock photo suppliers may have no real limit as to the numberof Sellers that they may accept as clients or sell electronic photofiles to. Therefore there would be no need to track or controlinventory.

[0278] The programs of this embodiment of Third Party ProfessionalsInterface 7000 are; Third Party Professionals' Configuration Program7717, Third Party Professionals' Transaction Processing Program 7720,Communication and Transport Program 7760, Third Party Professionals'Accounting or Management Program 7000B, and other programs as may benecessary or desirable.

[0279] The Third Party Professionals' Configuration Program 7717 is boththe gateway to the present invention and the controlling softwareinterface for the Third Party Professional. The Third PartyProfessional's Configuration Program 7717 introduces the Third PartyProfessional to the instance of the present invention. The Third PartyProfessional's Configuration Program 7717 presents the Third PartyProfessionals' with a series of questions to answer. The answering ofthese questions contributes to the Third Party Professionals' Database7636, Third Party Professionals' Presentation Database 7640, Third PartyProfessionals' Inventory Database (optional) 7666, and any otherdatabases necessary. The Third Party Professionals' ConfigurationProgram 7717 monitors the responses to the questions asked, text entryareas, photos, graphics, contract text, disclaimers, agency agreementtext, and other input, either required or optional.

[0280] Within this embodiment of the present invention, the Third PartyProfessionals' Transaction Processing Program 7720 is not utilized, asthe Third Party Professionals' Accounting or Management Program 7000Bperforms its functions. If there is no Third Party Professionals'Accounting or Management Program 7000B or it is not able to handle thosefunctions, then the Transaction Processing Program 7720 will perform thenecessary functions to process the incoming Transaction Messages. Thesemessages may update databases; notify Third Party Professionals' ofproduct, goods, or services sold or reserved; notify Third PartyProfessionals' of prices or rates paid; perform the necessaryconfirmations of available inventory and rates/pricing; create or sendconfirmation messages to buyer or other requested confirmation methods;and perform other functions necessary to process the incomingtransaction.

[0281] The Communication and Transport Program 7760 monitors, directs,and controls the receiving and transmitting of messages between theThird Party Professionals' and the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 FIG. 2a. During the setup of the Third PartyProfessionals' Configuration Program 7717, the Communication andTransport Program 7760 is initialized and tested with the Modem 7330and/or Network Interface 7340. The functions of the Communication andTransport Program 7760 are largely transparent to the Third PartyProfessional. It should be noted, however, that in this embodiment ofthe present invention, the Third Party Professionals Interface 7000should be left on, with the Communication and Transport Program 7760running, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is necessary so that theTransaction Processing Program 7720 can receive and process anytransaction messages from the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 FIG. 2a regardless of the hour of the day.

[0282] Buyer's Use of Present Invention Demonstrating TransactionProcessing and Access Delivery Substitution

[0283] The preferred embodiment of the present invention allows for“open access” to all electronic presentations by assembling thepresentations in an accessible format that can be searched and read byindependent, public, electronic search engines as well as by individualprivate search programs. We are referring to Internet Search Enginessuch as Yahoo, Lycos, Web Crawler, Excite, Hotbot, Altavista, and otherreferral and/or robotic, publicly accessible “Search Engines.” The blockdiagram of FIGS. 3a through 3 k is an example of the preferredembodiment of the present invention that, for this example, has beenconfigured for presenting lodging and event service-type sellers.

[0284] With this open-access design or architecture, the Buyer maychoose any of the available access methods to find or search for thegoods, products, events, or services represented. If the Buyer is awareof how to access the directory, index, or presentation site that maycontain the subject presentations that the Buyer is interested in, hecan go directly to the site or direct his personal search program tosearch the site. This searching of the site may be done either on asingle search basis or as part of a group or list of sites that theBuyer wants to search. As an example, if the Buyer is looking forlodging in a given city, the Buyer might give instructions and searchparameters to the Buyer's private search program. Those instructions andsearch parameters would include a list of sites that the Buyer wants tosearch. That list of sites could contain a wide range of sites that havebeen created under various methods including the present invention. Theprivate search program can perform the searches while the Buyer iswaiting for the results or can be scheduled to search during off-peakhours, then present the search results to the Buyer at his convenience.The search results delivered to the Buyer are a listing of those pagesor presentations that meet the search instructions and parameters thatwere entered by the Buyer (blocks 10100, 10110-10118).

[0285] If the Buyer has the access location knowledge, he also has theoption to access the presentations directly using Internet access andany Internet Browser such as Netscape 4.0 or any other browser software.Once the Buyer has accessed the site directly, he has the choice toeither conduct a search for the desired products, goods, or servicesusing the on-site search capabilities or browse the presentations muchthe same way one would browse the aisles of books at a library. Searchmethods of the present invention can vary from instance to instance, butthe preferred embodiment would always give the option of a fulltext-based search of all presentations or a database search of theinformation contained within the Final Presentation Database 2645 FIG.2b. The search function is easily accessed by the Buyer entering keywords or phrases that will most likely result in finding the informationthat he wants (blocks 10120-10126). The search results obtained from theon-site search function will direct the Buyer to those presentationscontained within that Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000,but not to other sites or sources. For the Buyer who wishes to browsethe structure of the presentations contained on the Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000, the design and architecture of thepresentation structure will direct him to the information he seeks bymeans of subject indexes and directories.

[0286] Buyers who are not aware of how to access the directory, index,or presentation site can access the presentations by using the publicsearch engines such as Yahoo, Lycos, Web Crawler, Excite, Hotbot,Altavista, and other referral and/or robotic publicly accessible “SearchEngines”. With the open-access format and structure, the presentinvention allows the search engines to have full access to thepresentations to review and index the subject matter of eachpresentation. Every search engine uses different algorithms to conductthe search and to establish the priorities in presenting the results ofthe requested searches. The result of these searches is presented to theBuyer in the form of direct references to the presentations which thesearch algorithms have determined contain the requested information(blocks 10102, 10104).

[0287] Once the Buyer has narrowed his information search to amanageable amount by either automated search systems or by browsing, theBuyer would then review the presentations available (blocks 10140,10150). If, for example, the Buyer is searching for lodging, he would,after deciding on a specific lodging facility and room type, request areservation for a given set of dates (blocks 10660, 10162). This requestis made interactively while he views the presentations on the CentralPresentation and Selection Server 2000. The Transaction NegotiationProgram 2725 processes that request, using the information containedwithin the Inventory Database 2660 and the Referral Database 2670 ifnecessary. Continuing the lodging example, the program checks if therequested room is available for the dates requested and, if not, entersa negotiation mode. The program will suggest alternative accommodations(different rooms or even a different lodging facility and rooms), usinglogic to suggest the best alternative. As an example of this logic, thealgorithms would not suggest a bridal suite when the Buyer has requesteda single economy room, or it may offer a discount for an upgraded room(block 10170-10198). If the suggested alternatives do not meet the needsof the Buyer, then the buyer is referred back to the indexes to reviewthe lodging possibilities again and start over (block 10140). Once theBuyer has chosen a facility, room, and dates (in the lodging example)which the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 accepts, that programputs that particular inventory on a hold status to allow the Buyer timeto respond with the additional information necessary to make thepurchase or reservation (block 10200, 10202). It is important that theBuyer is not burdened with inputting the required information until theitems (in the lodging example, room and dates) that he wants areconfirmed to be available. If a Buyer is forced to input the additionalinformation and then find that the inventory is not available, he willfeel that the system has wasted his time and will probably not use theservice in the future. Only when the program first confirms theavailability of the inventory and then asks for the additionalinformation will the Buyer view the process as appropriate andnecessary. The type and amount of additional information that isrequired largely depends on the type of products, goods, or servicesthat are represented. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the Buyer would be prompted to apply for a Delivery orNetwork ID. Once the Buyer has this ID number and the associatedpassword, then he would only have to enter that ID number for future useinstead of entering all required information. The Delivery or Network IDis also used as a substitute for the more traditional methods ofproof-of-access such as tickets, passes, admission documents,reservations, reservation confirmations, and other physical proof ofpurchase. In this embodiment of the present invention, the Delivery orNetwork ID could also be used to give discounts for use, promotionaloffers, upgrades, or other marketing incentives. The informationrequired in the application for the Delivery or Network ID would beowner names; contact names, numbers, and address; payment and creditinformation or payment method information; and any other informationnecessary to support the Delivery or Network ID. The Buyer would also berequired to identify which physical card or ID that he currently holds,he intends to use as the Delivery or Network ID. (blocks 10220-10232).An example of the appropriate use for the Delivery or Network ID wouldbe in conjunction with an instance of the present invention that isconfigured to represent professional sporting events. The Buyer in ourexample could purchase access to a given represented sporting eventthrough the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000, and the onlyrequirement of the Buyer when arriving at the facility to attend theevent would be to present his Delivery or Network ID for processing. Ifthe Buyer has a Delivery or Network ID, he is prompted for the Deliveryor Network ID and its password. If the Buyer does not want a Delivery orNetwork ID, he is prompted for the necessary information in lieu of theDelivery or Network ID. Depending on the information required and theresponses from the Buyer, the Transaction Negotiation Program continuesto prompt the Buyer until all information requirements have been met(blocks 10220-10262).

[0288] Having received and reviewed all the required informationrequested from the Buyer, the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 thenrequests a transaction approval code from a credit card processingcompany. If the credit card is not approved, the program then requestsan alternative payment method from the Buyer (blocks 10270-10282).

[0289] A Transaction ID is assigned after the Transaction Approval Codehas been received (block 10290). With the assignment of the TransactionID, the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 creates a confirmationproof of purchase or order (Confirmation of Booking in the lodgingexample). This confirmation is presented to the Buyer with prompts forchoosing any additional information that may be available to add to thisdocument prior to the Buyer printing it. With the lodging example, theadditional information might include directions to the facility,description and photos of the facility and or room, list of amenities ofthe facility such as pool and gym, list of activities in the area, orany other information of interest or concern to the Buyer (blocks(10300-10308). If, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the Buyer later wishes to cancel or modify his purchase, reservation, orrequest, he would return to the Seller's presentation and access andmodify his purchase or reservation by using his Delivery or Network ID,Transaction ID, confirmation number, credit card number, somecombination of these, or some other identification method (blocks10312-10316).

[0290] After the Transaction ID has been assigned and the Buyer has beenpresented with the purchase response, the Transaction NegotiationProgram 2725 determines if the inventory sold or reserved was controlledby the Resource Saver Protocol. If the inventory is controlled by theResource Saver Protocol, the program determines if the InventoryNotification Level has been reached and if so, what the remaininginventory count currently is after subtracting the transactionscurrently on hold (blocks 10320-10324). Regardless of whether theResource Saver Protocol applies to a particular instance of thisinvention, the program must calculate the Inventory Confirmation Number(block 10330). This Inventory Confirmation Number, which varies fromseller type to seller type, is used as a “check number” to confirm thatall components, the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000, theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000, and the SellerInterface 4000 have their associated inventory databases insynchronization.

[0291] The Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 also assigns asequential transaction message number associated with this transaction.It is through the tracking of this number that the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 and Seller Interface 4000 can determineif a gap exists and a missing transaction message needs to be requestedfrom the component that sent the missed message.

[0292] The Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 updates Buyer Database2610, Transaction Database 2620, Inventory Database 2660, and any otherdatabases necessary. It uses all the aforementioned data to create theTransaction Message that is sent from the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 to the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 (blocks 10340, 10342).

[0293] Upon receipt of the Transaction Message, the TransactionProcessing Program 1720 on the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 confirms the transaction logic and then updates the BuyerDatabase 1610, Transaction Database 1620, Inventory Database 1660, andany other database affected. By confirming the transaction logic, wemean that the Transaction Processing Program 1720 recalculates all ofthe calculations done by the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 on theCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000. This is done for qualitycontrol and security reasons (blocks 10360-10364).

[0294] The Transaction Processing Program 1720 then creates theTransaction Messages to send to the Seller Interface 4000 and updatesany other Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 that may beaffected by any change in inventory as a result of this transaction. Itshould be noted that this is an example of the savings presented by theResource Saver Protocol. For those items of inventory that arecontrolled by the Resource Saver Protocol, Transaction Messages need notbe sent to the related or sibling Central Presentation and SelectionServers 2000 unless the Notification Level has been reached or breachedfor that group of inventory. For those items of inventory that are notcontrolled by the Resource Saver Protocol, the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 sends Transaction Messages to the SellerInterface 4000 and to all affected Central Presentation and SelectionServers 2000. In this embodiment of the present invention, the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 and any Central Presentationand Selection Servers 2000 are linked via a full-time networkconnection, which would allow the update or Transaction Message to besent via the network. The Sellers could be on the same network, but morelikely would be communicating with the use of modem on demand, meaningthat a communications link would only be established when there wereTransaction Messages, Updates, or other data or information to exchangeor deliver. The communications between the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000, the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 and the Seller Interface 4000 is either protected by encryption oronly takes place on a private network or secure line modem (blocks10370-10400).

[0295] Upon receiving a Transaction Message, either the TransactionProcessing Program 4720 or the Seller Accounting or Management Program4000B of the Seller Interface 4000 confirms that the purchased inventoryor reservation is available and recalculates and confirms all neededdata contained within the Transaction Message. If the TransactionMessage is found to contain erroneous or missing data, then errormessages are sent to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000, the management or administrator, and to the Buyer (blocks10410-10432). It should be noted that in this embodiment of the presentinvention, the Transaction Processing Program 4720 is present butdisabled whenever a compatible Seller Accounting or Management Program4000B is in use and capable of performing the functions of theTransaction Processing Program 4720.

[0296] In this embodiment of the present invention, the TransactionProcessing Program 4720 or the Seller Accounting or Management Program4000B of the Seller Interface 4000, whichever is enabled, will have theoption to be set to automatically accept or reject the purchase orreservation without any further operator interaction. If the automaticoption is not invoked by the management of the Seller Interface 4000,then the processing of the Transaction Message would require the humanoperator to review the transaction and either accept or reject thetransaction and provide the appropriate responses (blocks 10440-10456).

[0297] All appropriate databases are updated, and then, if theTransaction Processing Program 4720 has been used instead of the SellerAccounting or Management Program 4000B, a Transaction Message may besent to a second-level or non-compatible accounting or managementsoftware. An embodiment of the present invention distinguishes between afully compatible Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B thatperforms all the necessary functions and a second-level ornon-compatible accounting or management software that the seller may beusing that does not meet the standards of the present invention (blocks10460-10472).

[0298] If the inventory or reservations purchased are controlled by theResource Saver Protocol, then the Transaction Processing Program 4720 orthe Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B performs theappropriate inventory calculations. If the inventory level has reachedor breached the notification level, then the Transaction ProcessingProgram 4720 or the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B mustsend a transaction message to the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000, which in turn sends it to the Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000. The transaction message prompts the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 and the Central Presentationand Selection Servers 2000 to update their respective databases.Regardless of whether or not the Resource Saver Protocol has beenactivated, the Transaction Processing Program or Seller Accounting orManagement Program 4000B sends an Acknowledgment Message to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 to confirm that it hasreceived and processed the Transaction Message (blocks 10480-10490).

[0299] Depending on the Seller type, the Transaction Message may containa request from the Buyer for a confirmation of the purchase orreservation. This request will be delivered to the Seller and, bynecessity, would primarily be handled or satisfied outside the realm ofthe present invention (blocks 10500-10512).

[0300] If the purchased item is to be delivered to the buyer, then thealternative block diagram FIG. 3i-a shows the possible configuration ofthat transaction flow. This configuration would be for goods or productsthat might require physical delivery of the good or product to theBuyer. The Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 formats andsends a Transaction Message, which contains any shipping request orspecial instructions to the Seller. The Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 processes the Transaction Message and thensends it to the Seller Interface 4000. The Seller will respond to thoseshipping and special requests outside the realm of the presentinvention. (FIGS. 3i-a, blocks 10500 a-10510 a).

[0301] In keeping with the configuration of the block diagram that isintended for the delivery of tickets, passes, admission documents,reservations, or reservation confirmations, all processing is completedat block 10512 until the Buyer arrives at the facility, site, business,or venue to be admitted. For events that might traditionally require aticket, pass, admission document, or reservation confirmation as proofof admittance, an instance of the present invention has several optionsfor the confirmation and delivery of said documents. It should be notedthat even though the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000supports the use of the Network or Delivery ID, which makes repeated useof the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 easier for theBuyer to utilize. The physical use of the Network or Delivery ID isoptional at the level of the facility, site, business, or venue. Thepreferred embodiment of the present invention, when fully configured forthe acceptance of the Delivery or Network ID, allows the Buyer severaloptions. If the Buyer arriving at the facility, site, business, or venuechooses to use the Delivery or Network ID, he would simply have his IDCard read by an unattended automatic reader that would either print thenecessary ticket, pass, admission document, or reservation confirmationor immediately allow admittance through a gate or turnstile (blocks10550-10574). The savings to the Seller, in the form of time and laborfor processing admittance, is obvious. The real advantage, however,comes in the form of Buyer goodwill resulting from the convenience ofreducing the time it takes to be admitted or to obtain the physicaltickets, passes, admission documents, reservations, or reservationconfirmations. The use of the Delivery or Network ID within anembodiment of the present invention is accomplished by either the BuyerAdmission Control Program 4770, which is a component of the presentinvention, or by compatible third-party programs such as the SellerAdmission Control Program 4000C or the Seller Accounting or ManagementProgram 4000B with an integrated admission control program to eitherprint tickets or passes or open physical barriers.

[0302] If the Seller's facility, site, business, or venue does notsupport the automatic processing of the Buyer's admittance, then theSeller may use the Delivery or Network ID, with an attendant visuallyexamining the ID or operating the scanner or reader and responding tothe results with either admittance or the printing of the tickets,passes, admission documents, reservations, or reservation confirmations.This would not be as efficient as the automatic process, but may presenta transition method to the full implementation of the preferredembodiment of the present invention (blocks 10580-10612). In each ofthese methods, there is a small risk of the physical failure of theDelivery or Network ID or of the reader to accurately identify theBuyer. In all cases of failure, the management would manually confirmthe identification and process the admittance of the Buyer (block10620). In this embodiment of the present invention, the Delivery orNetwork ID is a Magnetic, Smart, or Optical Card similar to a standardCredit Card. The present invention allows for the use of any uniqueidentification method either presently in use or to be developed in thefuture. The use of biometric scanners for voice, full face, fingerprint, iris, or other identification methods are just becomingcommercially economical for this type of use and will require the secureand verified obtaining of the original scan or sample.

[0303] Buyer is admitted to facility or event (block 10630).

[0304] Seller's Use of Present Invention.

[0305] The preferred embodiment of the present invention allows Sellersto have a “self-serve” relationship to the networks, directories,indexes, printed media, and other sales and advertising channels(resident and non-resident media) available to and serviced by the giveninstance of the present invention. The Sellers also have available tothem the same “self-serve” relationship to Third Party Creative andManagement Professionals who provide products, content, and servicesavailable by the given instance of the present invention. These ThirdParty Professional services, content, and products may be purchased andwhere necessary managed by the Seller within the present invention. Thisrelationship and process is accomplished through the Presentation andConfiguration Program 4715 which allows for the interactive access, bythe Sellers, to the resident and non-resident media as well as theservices, content, and products of the Third Party Professionals. TheSeller obtains the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 on eithera compact disc (CD-ROM), DVD disc, downloaded file, or some othermethod, then installs the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715and its associated programs on an either dedicated or shared-usecomputer (diagrammed block 11102 to 11106 FIG. 4a). This embodiment ofthis component of the present invention is shown as Seller Interface4000 FIG. 2c, which shows the relationship between the PresentationProgram 4715 and the associated hardware, programs and databases ofSeller Interface 4000.

[0306] Once installed and configured, the Presentation and ConfigurationProgram 4715 allows the Seller to control access to the program throughpassword protection (block 11120), allowing only authorized personal ofthe Seller to access the program. This access control is importantbecause the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 may controlsubstantial portions of the seller's sales, therefore the presentationsshould only be created or modified by authorized personnel.

[0307] Upon accessing the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715,the new Seller/client is presented with a series of forms containingyes/no choices, text entry areas, menu-driven choices, and other dataand information entry methods. These forms lead the Seller through hisestablishment as a client of the given instance of the presentinvention. This portion of the Presentation and Configuration Program4715 prompts the Seller for information such as contact numbers, contactaddress, payment methods, and other Seller/client information for theuse of the management of the instance of the present invention inworking with and servicing the Seller. This portion of the Presentationand Configuration Program 4715 also presents the service contract forthe review and agreement of the Seller. This agreement, complete withthe management information, is then transmitted to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 along with all otherSeller/client information upon the first submission of the Seller'spresentation information. In the case of an existing Seller/client, theSeller enters his password (block 11120) to access the body of theprogram for creation and maintenance of his presentations.

[0308] Upon entering the information to establish the clientrelationship, the new Seller/client is presented with the forms thatgive the choices of presentations, interactive sales presentations,resident and non-resident media, and Third Party Professionals that aresupported by the given instance of the present invention. These choicesare accompanied with descriptions of each choice and the approximatecost of each presentation for all choices of presentations, resident andnon-resident media. In addition choices and descriptions are availablefor Third Party Professionals and their associated content, products,and services. These descriptions vary widely depending on the productsand or services offered by the Third Party Professionals but will besufficiently complete with detailed descriptions and pricing so theSellers can make informed decisions. This information comes from thePresentation Rules Database 4650 for the presentation information andfrom the Third Party Professionals Database 4636 for the informationabout the content, products and services offered to assist the seller.Because in many cases the Seller will be receiving transactions andtaking orders over the instance of the present invention, the Seller maybe given the option of paying for the services by monthly, quarterly, orannual subscriptions; on a per sale or percentage basis; somecombination of any of the above; or another payment method. As anexample, if the instance of the present invention were configured tosupport “Sailboats For Sale,” the Seller may be given the choice ofthree Internet Directories that specialize in boating-related goods andservices, two printed magazines, and a subscription-based CD-ROM. TheSeller could then choose one or two or all of the media/means ofcommunication in which to be represented, with all presentations createdby the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 (blocks 11130,11132). The Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 would thenprompt the Seller for the necessary and optional information to completethe presentations (block 11140, 11142). During this process where thepresentations are being created, the Seller may choose to utilize one ofthe Third Party Professionals as a supplier of content, products, orservices. For example the Seller may choose to obtain a stock photo orgraphic of a sailboat from one of the Third Party Professionals toinclude in the printed magazine presentations or the Seller may choose atracking service to monitor the effectiveness of the InternetDirectories. It should be noted that each presentation might have verydifferent standards for publishing the same information. In those cases,the same questions or at least similar prompts may be presented to theSeller, requiring the entering of virtually the same information inmultiple locations on the forms. Although this may seem redundant to theSeller, the differences will become apparent because each separate entryis controlled by the information contained within the Presentation RulesDatabase 4650. As a simple example, the description in a particularInternet Directory may allow for up to 3000 characters, whereas aprinted magazine may allow only 300, depending on the presentationschosen. As the Seller enters information, the Presentation andConfiguration Program 4715, using the information contained in thePresentation Rules Database 4650, controls and monitors that enteredinformation to conform to the controlling format and style for eachtargeted media venue or outlet presentation.

[0309] After the Seller has chosen the channels and means ofcommunication and has entered the information necessary to create allthe selected presentations, the Presentation and Configuration Program4715 notifies the Seller of the cost of and payment methods acceptablefor those presentations or modifications and prompts the Seller foracceptance of the charges. If the Seller does not accept the charges,then the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 rolls theinformation or modifications back and notifies the Seller that theinformation will not be published or modified (blocks 11150-11156).

[0310] The Seller is allowed to print reports for management review orfor hard copy records. Those reports include the charges and conditionsthat have been agreed to by the Seller (blocks 11160, 11162).

[0311] It should be noted that the Third Party Professionals may offermany options for the Seller to take advantage of professional productsor services to either enhance the Seller's presentation or to relievethe Seller of part or all of the responsibility of creating and managingthe presentations or whole advertising campaigns. The Seller in theprevious simple example may choose to retain a Professional SailboatMarketer to create the presentations and choose which media venues willbe used to successfully sell said sail boat. In this case the Sellerwould contract and pay for the services of the Sailboat Marketer throughthe instance of the present invention. The present invention would thenallow the Seller to monitor the progress of the retained SailboatMarketer in the creation and placement of the presentations. If theSeller elected to retain the Sailboat Marketer as their agent then theSailboat Marketer could then act on the Sellers behalf to perform thedirected duties of creation and management for specific presentations orthe whole effort to “sell the Sailboat”. The Third Party Professionalagent of the Seller may perform any, some, or all the previous orfollowing descriptions of actions that may be taken by the Seller afterthat agent has been appointed or retained by the Seller and givenspecific instructions with which to act upon within the presentinvention.

[0312] The information entered, either as a new presentation or asmodifications to an existing presentation, can be sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 immediately or delayed forpublication later. The reasons for delay could be that the presentationis geared to a given date or holiday, such as a Valentine's Day getawayoffer from a resort, or is a special promotional offer to be used uponreaching a given inventory level (blocks 11170, 11172).

[0313] The Communication and Transport Program 4760 performs thetransmission of the Seller's presentation information from the SellerInterface 4000 to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000. The Communication and Transport Program 4760 utilizes either themodem or network connections to perform this transmission. TheCommunication and Transport Program 4760 applies the appropriate levelof encryption of data necessary, depending on the method oftransmission. In this embodiment of the present invention, theconnection used for transmission between the Seller Interface 4000 andthe Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 is a directdial-up modem connection. This configuration is more secure than publicnetworks, even with encryption, and, due to the relatively small amountof data transmitted, has sufficient transmission capacity (blocks11180-11190).

[0314] Once the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000receives the presentation message from the Seller Interface 4000 (block11200), the Presentation Generation Program 1710 determines if thepresentation message is information from a new Seller/client ormodification to an existing current presentation from an existingSeller/client (block 11210). If it is a presentation message from a newSeller/client, the presentation message is passed to the GeneralManagement Program 1730. The General Management Program 1730 sets up thenecessary Seller/client control accounts, payment information, contactinformation, database records, and any other administrative functionsnecessary to establish the Seller/client within the instance of thepresent invention and allows the creation of presentations by thePresentation Generation Program 1710 (blocks 11212, 11214). If thepresentation message is from an existing Seller/client, the presentationmessage does not leave the control of the Presentation GenerationProgram 1710, which confirms the authenticity of the Seller/clientpresentation message prior to processing the message (block 11220,11222).

[0315] Once the Presentation Generation Program 1710 has eitherconfirmed the authenticity and origin of the presentation message or themessage has passed through the General Management Program 1730, thePresentation Generation Program 1710 then analyses the information usingthe format and style guidelines contained within the Presentation RulesDatabase 1650 (blocks 11230, 11232). This process parallels thefunctions performed by the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715and the Presentation Rules Database 4650. This duplication of functionensures both quality control of content and prevents tampering of theprocess by either the Seller or any non-authorized entity. Thisduplication of function also ensures that the latest version of thePresentation Rules Database 1650 has been applied to every presentation.This embodiment of the present invention updates any changes in thePresentation Rules Database 1650 to the Presentation Rules Database 4650using update messages to the Seller Interface 4000. Although this methodshould result in the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 alwaysusing the best and most current information that has been updated to thePresentation Rules Database 4650, the integrity of the presentations iscritical enough to require the duplication of this function.

[0316] During the analysis of the presentation performed by thePresentation Generation Program 1710, the program reviews theinformation and assigns the presentations into one of three processingcategories: pass, fail, and needs review (blocks 11240-11272). Apresentation in the “fail” category causes a rollback of data in thePresentation Database 1640, and a message is sent to the Sellernotifying them that the presentation failed and the reason why (blocks11242-11246). Messages are also sent to the management of the instanceof the present invention because the synchronization of the PresentationRules Database 1650 and Presentation Rules Database 4650 should preventthis failure. The management would investigate the reason for thefailure and take appropriate action. Those presentations in the “needsreview” category are ones which have content that is not recognized asbeing either allowed or not allowed by the Presentation GenerationProgram 1710. These presentations are referred to a human operator forreview (blocks 11250-11262). The operator will pass, fail, or edit thepresentations at this point. Those that fail return to block 11242.Those that are edited are sent back to block 11230. This forces theanalysis done by the Presentation Generation Program 1710 to pass everypresentation. It is through this process of forcing corrections to bemade, examined, and reviewed by management that the informationcontained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and the algorithmswhich apply that information within the Presentation Generation Program1710 are refined (block 11272).

[0317] Once the presentation has worked through the analysis and reviewprocess, the Presentation Generation Program 1710 passes information tothe General Management Program 1730 confirming the acceptability of thepresentations. The General Management Program 1730 then confirms paymentmethod and amounts, processes credit card payments, updates databases,and performs any other administrative procedures necessary (blocks11280-11284).

[0318] Having passed the presentation information for content and style,the Presentation Generation Program 1710 next determines the directoriesand presentation indexes in which this information should be published(blocks 11290-11296). In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, each Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 maysupport any number of client outlets, channels, resident media, ornon-resident media. These client outlets, channels, resident media, ornon-resident media may include Central Presentation and SelectionServers 2000; Independent Presentation 3000; Printed Publications,Periodicals, Directories, CD-ROMs, and other Media Interface 6000 FIG.2e; and other sales outlets, channels, or advertising methods.

[0319] The Presentation Generation Program 1710, using the informationcontained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650, then formats thepresentation information for each client outlet, channel, residentmedia, or non-resident media (blocks 11300, 11294). New presentationsare created in their entirety, while only the portions of existingpresentations affected by any modifications are republished. Aftercreating or modifying the presentations, messages confirming any editsor modifications of submissions are created and sent to the Sellers(blocks 11310-11336).

[0320] The presentations are then separated by their publicationdestination: resident or nonresident. The presentations destined fornon-resident publication are formatted into media transaction messagesand sent to the appropriate Media Interface 6000 for processing andultimate publication. Upon receiving the media transaction message, theMedia Interface 6000 and specifically the Transaction Processing Program6720 or Media Accounting or Management Program 6000B if available, willprocess the message and schedule the publication of the presentationdepending on media type, venue, available dates or other considerations.It should be noted that the non-resident media category and MediaInterface 6000 is designed to provide a nearly seamless, self servetransaction environment that can be configured for an extremely broadspectrum of media vendors, resellers, and representatives. The makeup ofthese media vendors, resellers, and representatives will be in directresponse to the demographics of buyers and sellers of the given instanceof the present invention. The configuration of the offerings to theSellers and also the design and configuration of the Media Interface6000 are a result of the media vendors, resellers and representatives(blocks 11340-11358).

[0321] The presentations that are to be published in resident media arethen sorted into those that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 publishes to directly, supported electronic media such asInternet, Intranet, and other similar electronic presentations and those“other” supported resident media. For any given instance of the presentinvention there may or may not be other resident media such as printeddirectories and presentations. Their inclusion is entirely optional(blocks 11360, 11362).

[0322] Presentations that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 will directly publish on media such as the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 may be published either on an“urgent” or “course of business” basis. This designation is set by theSeller at the time that the “original presentation” or “update to apublication” information is sent to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 thereby allowing the Seller a measure ofcontrol if the nature of the presentation or correction warrants it. The“urgent” designation means that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 will process that presentation as soon as it receives themessage. The “course of business” designation allows the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 to place the presentation andany associate files into a queue for processing and publishing at a timewhen the resources of the network are at their lowest utilization(blocks 11370-11374).

[0323] The publications that are directed for resident media and are tobe electronically published on the Internet, Intranet, or otherelectronic presentation channels are matched to the supporting, linking,dependent, reference, attached, or other affected parts or components ofthe directories, indexes, or presentation structures to which thepresentations are published. Once identified, those parts or componentsare updated to reflect the changes caused by the new and updatedpresentations and information. As an example of the cascading or dominoeffect that the publication of a new presentation might have on aninstance of the present invention, suppose the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 is supporting a Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 that is configured to represent lodging. A givendirectory for lodging may require that the new presentation be indexedby the state and city in which the lodging facility is located. In theinterest of giving the best and most useful presentation to potentialBuyers of the lodging services, the directory could also index thelodging facility by other categories to make the Buyer's selectioneasier. Some of the possible logical divisions are by locations such as“Lodging by the Ocean” or “Lodging in the Mountains”, by services orspecialties such as “Weddings” or “Business Conference and MeetingFacilities”, or by promotional offerings such as “Romantic Getaways” or“Corporate Retreats”. Each of these additional categories would needindexes and supporting structures that would be updated and changed whenthe referenced facilities were changed or updated. It should be notedthat the prior art generally allowed these indexes or categories to beaccessed by the buyer using database searches thereby not allowing orpromoting the open access created by the present invention.

[0324] This embodiment of the present invention is not configured tosupport resident media other than the core presentations intended forInternet, Intranet, and interactive electronic presentations. However,depending on the demographics of the Buyers and Sellers, additionalresident media can be added by the management of the instance of thepresent invention (block 11380).

[0325] At this point the Presentation Generation Program 1710 containsall the presentations and presentation components that have been createdor edited. The Presentation Generation Program 1710 will proceed topublish or place the presentations and any supporting components intheir proper locations on the Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 and Independent Presentation Directories and Indexes 3000 (block11390-11414).

[0326] Seller Setup and Use of the Resource Saver Protocol

[0327] The preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes theResource Saver Protocol to reduce the number of messages sent andreceived by all components of the present invention while maintainingthe control and synchronization of any qualified inventory that isoffered for sale. With the reductions in the quantity of messages neededto maintain inventory synchronization, there is a correspondingreduction in all other aspects of communications and processing overheadbetween both collocated and remote components. This savings isespecially significant, with magnified results, when more than oneCentral Presentation and Selection Servers 2000, sales outlets orchannels are used in the marketing of the controlled inventory. Althoughmost inventory types can benefit substantially from the utilization ofthe Resource Saver Protocol, it is most effective when controlling thoseinventory items that are substitutable but may be limited inavailability.

[0328] It should be noted that the term inventory is used in a verybroad and general sense. The term inventory can apply to goods,products, services, reservations for services, or any other identifiableunit or item to be sold, conveyed, or reserved.

[0329] The block diagram of FIGS. 5a through 5 h is an example of theSeller's setup and use of the Resource Saver Protocol as part of thisembodiment of the present invention. In the first example, the instanceof the present invention has been configured to represent Hotels andLodging, and the Seller is a hotel with 312 rooms of the followingtypes: 200 standard rooms, 100 upgrade rooms, and 12 suites.

[0330] The setup of the Resource Saver Protocol is accomplished withinthe Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 of the Seller Interface4000. The seller divides the inventory into its logical groups formarketing, presentation, and sales to the Buyers. In this case, thegroups are standard rooms, upgrade rooms, and penthouse suites (blocks13100, 13110). Each item in each group of inventory must besubstitutable with all the other items within that group. With theexample hotel, we will assume that all rooms are identical within theirgroups without special view or amenities (blocks 13120-13132). If theinventory were not absolutely substitutable to any given Buyer, then theSeller would not use the Resource Saver Protocol with this inventory.That does not mean that all the Inventory items or groups of a Sellermust either be or not be controlled by the Resource Saver Protocol. TheSeller may have any combination of Inventory items or groups controlledor not controlled by the Resource Saver Protocol.

[0331] In the case of the current hotel example, the inventory isconsidered to be both Limited and Time Sensitive. There are only alimited number of rooms of each type, and they are time sensitive in thefact that the inventory is sold by the “unit night” which, if not sold,can never be used or recovered (block 13150).

[0332] Next, the Seller must set the maximum units of inventory that anygiven Buyer will be allowed to purchase in any given single purchase. Inour hotel example, the Seller might set a limit of 4 rooms for any givenBuyer to purchase from any Central Presentation and Selection Server2000 serviced by this instance of the present invention (block 13140).By setting a reasonable maximum number of units of inventory that anygiven Buyer may purchase, the Seller prevents that rare but possiblecase of a self-serve Buyer purchasing or reserving more inventory thanis available. The Buyer is still allowed to purchase as much as he wouldlike, but the purchase must be transacted in sequential “maximum unit”transactions as opposed to one large transaction.

[0333] The explanation for blocks 13152 to 13184, which covers commoninventory, follows the next example. The next decision pertaining to thesuitability of each inventory group for control by the Resource SaverProtocol must be arrived at by assigning a number for the bufferinventory level. The purpose of this buffer is to allow for a margin oferror, based on processing time and communications delays, that preventsthe overselling of inventory (overbooking in the hotel example). Thisnumber is an estimate intended to be adjusted, based on the Seller'sexperience over time. The only loss of efficiency associated withsetting the buffer number too high is the cost of the communications forthe extra units within the buffer category (block 13190). In our hotelexample, the management might set the buffer at 8 units (twice themaximum single purchase) as a starting point, to be adjusted later basedon experience.

[0334] To determine if there is sufficient inventory to realize asavings by utilizing the Resource Saver Protocol, the Seller subtractsthe total of maximum single purchase units and buffer units from thetotal inventory. In our hotel example, the 200 standard rooms minus 4maximum purchase rooms and minus 8 buffer rooms results in 188 rooms forwhich the Seller could realize savings. For the upgrade rooms, themanagement might use the same maximum purchase number and buffer number,resulting in savings for 88 rooms. In the case of the suites, themanagement might set the maximum purchase at 3 and the buffer at 6,which would only result in savings on 3 units. This “savings” wouldprobably not be worth implementing the Resource Saver Protocol (blocks13210,13212).

[0335] If the savings are sufficient enough to utilize the ResourceSaver Protocol, then the Seller must determine the Notification Level.The Notification Level equals the maximum purchase units plus the bufferunits. In our hotel example, the Notification Level for the standardrooms and upgrade rooms would be 12, and the suites would not be coveredby the Resource Saver Protocol at all due to the limited inventory(blocks 13210-13232).

[0336] Once all groups of inventory have been analyzed and anynotification levels have been set then the Presentation andConfiguration Program 4715 would update its databases and transmit thesettings to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000. TheCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 would update itsdatabases and then forward the information to any Central Presentationand Selection Servers 2000 that are affected (blocks 13260,13262).

[0337] It should be noted that the savings generated are moresubstantial than they appear to be for some Seller types. This isbecause the typical total sales of inventory in any given period doesnot reach the level that triggers the notification of CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 or other outlets and channels.With our hotel example, the hotel may only operate above the 88 percentoccupancy of the standard and upgrade rooms a few days a month, therebynot triggering the communications and processing required above thatnotification level except for those few days.

[0338] The savings become obvious when one looks at the processing ofthe individual transaction messages as outlined on FIG. 5d. Alltransactions, from all sources, are entered in such a way as to producetransaction messages that are then processed within the total system(blocks 13270-13284). As the transaction messages are processed by theSeller Interface 4000, more specifically the Transaction ProcessingProgram 4720 or the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B. Onlythose that are not controlled by the Resource Saver Protocol and thosethat have reached or breached the notification level trigger the sendingof transaction messages with the current inventory count to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000. The Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 then sends that message on to all CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 that are affected. If thatCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 is controlling 3Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000, then each message thatis passed to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000generates 3 additional messages to the Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000 (blocks 13290-13296). Those transaction messagesthat are controlled by the Resource Saver Protocol and do not reach orbreach the Notification Level would require no messages to be sent tothe Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 and then on tothe Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 (blocks13310-13320).

[0339] It would not be unreasonable to expect the hotel in our exampleto experience a 95 percent saving in transaction communications and theassociated overhead by using the Resource Saver Protocol.

[0340] Common goods and products experience the most savings within thepresent invention by utilizing the Transmission Level Method inconjunction with the setting of the Transmission Period.

[0341] As an example, consider a Seller of music CDs. The Seller wouldseparate his inventory into titles to be offered. Each CD of a giventitle is obviously substitutable with any other CD with that same titleand is available in an almost unlimited supply. The Seller could orderor press more if needed (blocks 13100 to 13130). The inventory issubstitutable and almost unlimited in supply, therefore common. Thesetting of the maximum units of inventory that any given Buyer will beallowed to purchase with common inventory is not as critical to preventoverselling as with Limited or Time-Sensitive inventory; however, thisis one of the controlling factors in setting the Transmission Level(block 13140). With a common type inventory, the savings ofcommunications and processing while utilizing the present inventioncomes from the periodic processing and transmission of all transactionmessages based on the setting of Transmission Levels, TransmissionPeriods, and Transmission Times. The use of these settings is possiblewith common inventory items because there is no concern for oversellingthe inventory. The Transmission Level is the total cumulative number ofinventory items sold at any given Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 or outlet that forces a transmission of the transactionsmessages. The Transmission Level is the maximum units of inventoryallocated by the transaction messages saved, stored, or held as a batchby the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 or outlet thatthen forces the transaction messages to be transmitted to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000. The initial setting of thisnumber by the Seller requires the consideration of the availability ofinventory and the processing and delivery of the sold inventory. Withour CD Seller example, if the Seller were represented on 20 CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000, the potential sales surgecaused by the maximum held units is 20 times the setting of theTransmission Level. It may be unlikely that all Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000 and outlets would reach maximum held items at thesame time, but this volume can be handled with planning. If the CDSeller were to set the Transmission Level at 100, then whenever eachCentral Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 or outlet was holdingthat many combined sales, it would trigger the transmission of alltransaction messages and the clearing of that number or buffer (blocks13152-13158). If the Seller utilizes the Transmission Level Method, hemust also set the Transmission Period. This prevents the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 or outlet from holding thetransactions messages indefinitely when the Transmission Level has notbeen reached and ensures a reasonable processing flow of transactions.If the Seller does not utilize the Transmission Level Method, he may setthe Transmission Period alone to control the sending of transactionmessages on a regular basis (block 13146).

[0342] The setting of the Transmission Time Control allows the Seller todirect the Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000 or outlets totransmit their transaction messages at a specific time. The intent ofthis setting is to allow the Seller to schedule the transmissions totake place when the communications and processor utilization is at thelowest point during the daily business cycle. The Seller is allowed toeither set each Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 oroutlets to a specific time for transmission or set a specific time to beused with random offsets that have been set for the Central Presentationand Selection Servers 2000 s or outlets. The use of offsets creates aspread or staggering of the times at which the Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000 s or outlets are transmitting their transactionmessages, thereby better utilizing all communications and processingresources (blocks 13162-13184).

[0343] In the CD Seller example, the major savings experienced utilizingthe Resource Saver Protocol would not only be in limiting the number oftimes messages are transmitted back and forth, but would also be in theutilization of the automatic scheduling of the communications andprocessing usage times so that transaction messages will be received attimes of less usage. This last method of savings is even more powerfulwhen the Seller realizes more accessibility by potential buyers at highusage times when the computers and networks are freed up fromtransaction messages.

[0344] The block diagram of FIGS. 5e through 5 f is an example of theResource Saver Protocol as used by an instance of a Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000 as part of the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0345] Once the Buyer has made his purchase decision and has providedthe necessary purchase information, the Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000 and more specifically the Transaction NegotiationProgram 2725 processes and creates a transaction message fortransmission to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000(block 13330). If the item of inventory is “common” and the Seller isusing the Transmission Level method to control the transmission of thetransaction messages, then the transaction messages being processed areplaced on hold. If the total of all sold inventory represented by theheld transaction messages equals or exceeds the Transmission Level, thenall messages are immediately sent to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor (blocks 13342 and 13366). The Transmission Levelis set by the Seller to prevent the accumulation of too much soldinventory on any given Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 orother sales outlet. If the accumulated inventory sales exceed theTransmission Level at any time, then all messages are sent immediately.If the Transmission Level has not been exceeded, then the transactionmessages are held until the Transmission Period has elapsed and theTransmission Time has arrived (blocks 13262 through 13366). By settingthe Transmission Period, the Seller can require all transaction messagesbeing held to be transmitted on a regular or periodic basis. As anexample, the Seller might require the transaction messages to be sentevery 24 hours. This setting allows the Seller to set the urgency of theprocessing of transactions messages and ensures that transactionmessages are processed in a timely fashion. Another setting that allowsthe Seller to control the workflow and processing of transactionmessages is the Transmission Offsets, which are specific to each salesoutlet. The Transmission Offset is a number of minutes that is assignedto each sales outlet, which is then added to the Transmission Time thathas been selected by the Seller. This sets the actual time an outlet isto transmit its accumulated transaction messages. This offset allows theSeller to prevent all Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 andother sales outlets from attempting to transmit their transactionmessages at exactly the same time (blocks 13356-13366). The Seller hasthe option of not utilizing the Transmission Level, instead setting onlythe Transmission Period (blocks 13340, 13350). This combination might beused for a Seller that has an unlimited inventory such as the music CDs.If the Seller sells out of current inventory, they can create unlimitedadditional units.

[0346] If the inventory is of a more unique or time-sensitive nature,then the Seller would probably not use the previous two methods, insteadfavoring the Notification Level method of the Resource Saver Protocolfor all but the very unique inventory items (block 13370). With theNotification Level being the controlling method of processing, thecriterion is whether the Notification Level as set by the Seller hasbeen reached or breached. If the current status of the NotificationLevel is such that it has not been reached or breached, then thetransaction message is transmitted immediately to the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000. If the current Notification Level hasbeen reached or breached then the current sold units of inventory aresubtracted from the inventory count and that information is updated tothe database and added to the transmission message to be sent to theCentral Controller and Presentation Processor 1000. The transmissionmessage is processed and then transmitted from the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 to the Seller Interface 4000 (blocks13372-13400).

[0347] It should be noted that the Seller Interface 4000, andspecifically the Transaction Processing Program 4720 or the SellerAccounting or Management Program 4000B, will make the determination forwhen the Notification Level has been reached or breached (block 13410).As soon as any given transaction, either electronic or otherwise, hasreduced the available inventory so that the Notification Level isreached or breached, then either the Transaction Processing Program 4720or the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000B sends updates tothe Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 and any othersales outlets affected. The Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 processes the message, updates its databases, and thensends the updates to any Central Presentation and Selection Servers 2000under its control (blocks 13410-13418). In any given instance of thepresent invention, once the Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 or any other sales outlet has been notified that the NotificationLevel has been reached or breached and given the current inventorylevel, then each Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 oroutlet adjusts the available inventory and adds that information to eachfuture transaction message processed (blocks 13372-13376).

[0348] The block diagram of FIGS. 5g through 5 h is an example of theinventory setup and maintenance using the Resource Saver Protocol andSeller Interface 4000 as part of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0349] Initial setup or adjustment of the inventory takes place by theSeller when first setting up their account and creating theirpresentations within the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715.The seller establishes the type of inventory and the settings that areappropriate for the inventory's sale and control (blocks 13500).Replaceable inventory is managed by either the Transaction ProcessingProgram 4720 or by the Seller Accounting or Management Program 4000Bsetting, adding to, or adjusting the inventory count as appropriate(blocks 13502-13516). Fixed inventory is managed at the CentralPresentation and Selection Server 2000 level with the inventory beingset into the future at the given level set by the Seller from the SellerInterface 4000 (blocks 13510-13562). The inventory level may vary evenwith fixed inventory based on Buyers purchasing or canceling thepurchase of the inventory. This means that the controls utilized by theNotification Level for a given inventory could be turned on, then off,then back on, several times based on purchases and cancellation ofpurchases. This on-again off-again tracking of inventory, althoughappearing confusing, will maintain the synchronization of the inventoryand prevent overselling to the Buyer.

[0350] If the Resource Saver Protocol is not used to control inventory,then the inventory offered for sale is synchronized by the presentinvention between all components, Seller Interface 4000, CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000, and Central Presentation andSelection Server 2000. This synchronization is maintained at all timeswith the utilization of the transaction messages between all components.

[0351] When the Notification Level method of the Resource Saver Protocolis used, then the inventory offered for sale is synchronized by thepresent invention from the time the Notification Level is reached orbreached until all inventory is sold. When all inventory is sold ineither case above, then the Transaction Negotiation Program 2725 of theCentral Presentation and Selection Server 2000 of an instance of thepresent invention notifies the buyer that no inventory is available andmay offer possible alternatives or substitutes. The adding to or thereplacement of inventory increases the inventory count or level. Theseevents are processed as transactions messages that are sent from theTransaction Processing Program 4720 or the Seller Accounting orManagement Program 4000B of the Seller Interface 4000 to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000. The data for the inventoryincrease or replacement is either entered by the operator of the SellerInterface or is automatically updated by the aforementioned programs.The Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 then transmitstransaction messages to any Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 or other outlets that are affected. Those Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000 or outlets reset their inventory counts or levelsand any control settings that are affected.

[0352] The invention allows sellers to present their inventory,products, goods and services in a choice of one or a variety ofsupported media outlets: in print, such as newspapers, magazines,periodicals, guidebooks, catalogs, brochures, fliers, and directories;in electronic form, such as online directories, web sites, bulletinboards, news groups, CD-ROMs, and interactive media and networks; and inother media, such as billboards, skywriters, bus benches, radio,interactive kiosk and any other form of customer outreach or informationdistribution. When these media choices are made, the present inventionprompts the seller for information that is then used in the creation ofpresentations for the media outlets he has chosen. The PresentationRules Database 1650 and 4650 holds all the criteria, formattingarchitecture, and distribution factors for each participating mediaoutlet. The present invention's Presentation Generation Program 1710,along with the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and 4650, then creates apresentation for each and every media outlet the seller has chosen. ThePresentation Generation Program 1710 then either transmits thepresentation to the appropriate destination or holds it for apublication date to be submitted for a particular deadline orpredetermined promotional market.

[0353] The seller can then print out a report that shows him eachpresentation, distribution or media outlet, and the pricing of eachmedia choice for an overall marketing valuation.

[0354] The present invention allows the Seller to update, change,control inventory, and automatically process sales either from hisin-house or third-party accounting or management software that has acompatible communication component with the present invention or in thepresent invention. He can accomplish this updating and inventory controlto all media outlets simultaneously.

[0355] The Presentation Generation Program 1710 creates presentationsthat can be accessed by the buying public in location/outlet-appropriateformats and availability through the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000; Independent Presentation Directories and Indexes orIndependent stand-alone Presentations 3000; Printed Publications,Periodicals, Directories, CD-ROMs, and other Media and Presentations6000; and the Buyers Interface 5000. The present invention allows buyersto review descriptions; specifications; photos; graphics; pricing; andthe availability of products, goods, and services, including time- andallocation-critical services. The buyer can access this information andthese resources through either a search specific mode or a browsingmode, depending on the advertising channel or media outlet he is using.

[0356] The invention allows buyers to hold or commit to the purchase;reservation; or utilization of those products, goods, and services,within the practical limits of the expiration of their utility oravailability, on those media outlets supported by a Central Presentationand Selection Server 2000. The buyer can confidently select products,goods, and services with real-time or near real-time purchasing. Oncethe buyer has committed to a purchase, the commitment is transmitted tothe seller and the inventory is updated. With the present invention,inventory control of the suppliers, vendors, service providers,purveyors, and other types of sellers is maintained with transactionand, when necessary, confirmation message units sent between the CentralController and Presentation Processor 2000 and those same suppliers,vendors, service providers, and purveyors.

[0357] Once the buyer makes a purchase or reservation, he can choose amethod of confirmation, get a print-out of seller's commitment fordelivery, an entry code number or whatever means of confirmationdetermined by the Seller. As an example, the buyer can even get acomplete printout of directions to the facility if the purchase involveshim arriving at a place of lodging, restaurant, arena, store, or anyother facility. All these methods of confirmation can be near real-time.The buyer does not have to wait for printed tickets, passes, admissiondocuments, reservation confirmations, or other physical substantiationto be mailed or conventionally delivered to him.

[0358] Thus, the full implementation of the present invention makes theusual requirement of delivery of tickets, passes, admissionconfirmations, or reservation confirmations unnecessary. Thesetraditional conveyance forms are replaced or augmented by the buyer'sReservation/Ticket Network ID card or confirmation of biometric ID. Thepresent invention allows buyers of tickets, passes, admission documents,and reserved services to purchase or reserve those tickets, passes,admission documents, or services remotely via electronic networkpresentations, Internet, Intranet, dial-up self-serve or operator-servedsystems using standard telephone communications, or other means. Theinvention allows the buyer to confirm or prove his purchase at thefacility, site, business, or venue by means of magnetic, smart, oroptical ID cards or by electronic biometric authentication. These meansof proof can be issued by the operators of an instance either forexclusive use for that instance of the present invention, for multi-usein conjunction with other entities and the operators of the otherinstances of the present invention, or through a “piggy-back” methodthat will allow the issue of Credit Cards, Membership ID Cards, or otherID Cards. For those services or events that require printed tickets,passes, admission documents, reservation confirmations, or otherphysical substantiation, those means of confirmation can be printed ondemand from either automatic or manual vendors upon electronic readingor scanning of the buyer's Network ID card, the buyer entering a code,or by biometric authentication.

[0359] The invention's Resource Saver Protocol allows for thecoordination and synchronization of the sales and availability ofproducts, goods, and services between interactive electronicpresentations and other sales outlets, channels, or sources whilereducing the communications and resources necessary to maintain thatcoordination and synchronization. The present invention does this whileboth allowing for the purchase or reservation through electronicnetworks and other diverse channels or outlets and keeping control ofinventory to prevent overselling or overbooking. The seller can definehis inventory and establish the settings that are appropriate for thesale and control of said inventory. Then communications will betransmitted when the levels he sets are reached or breached, when anotification time has been reached, or when a notification level hasbeen met. If the seller does not have similar or substitutableinventory, then transmissions must be made for each and every sale.However, the seller may have some inventory that can benefit from theResource Saver Protocol while other inventory is unique. This costsaving device will also allow the seller to schedule transmissions to bemade when other uses of the Central Presentation and Selection Servers2000 is at a low traffic level.

[0360] The invention will not only transmit all sales and reservationsto the seller's compatible in-house accounting and management program orto an instance of the present invention at his location, but it willalso update and control inventory offered on all the media channels andoutlets on which that seller has chosen to sell his products, goods, andservices.

[0361] Media's Use of Present Invention.

[0362] The preferred embodiment of the present invention allows Media orMedia Venues to have a “self-serve” vendor or supplier relationship tothe Sellers who use the present invention to access, create and managepresentations intended for publication on the networks, directories,indexes, printed media, and other sales and advertising channels(resident and non-resident media) available to the seller through andserviced by the given instance of the present invention. These MediaVenues services, content, and products may be purchased or contractedfor and where necessary managed by the Seller within the presentinvention. For the Seller this relationship and process is accomplishedthrough the Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 which allows forthe interactive access to the resident and non-resident media as well asthe services, content, and products of the Media. For the Media theprocess is controlled through the Media Configuration Program 6717,which allows for the interactive access by the Media. Through the MediaConfiguration Program 6717 a presentation may be created and presentedthrough the Central Control and Presentation Processor 1000 to thoseSellers using the present Invention. The Media obtains the ConfigurationProgram 6717 on either a compact disc (CD-ROM), DVD disc, downloadedfile, or some other method, then installs the Configuration Program 6717and its associated programs on an either dedicated or shared-usecomputer (diagrammed block 14102 to 14106 FIG. 6a). The embodiment ofthis component of the present invention is shown as Media Interface 6000FIG. 2e, which shows the relationship between the Configuration Program6717 and the associated hardware, programs and databases of MediaInterface 6000.

[0363] Once installed and configured the Configuration Program 6717allows Media to control access to the program through passwordprotection (block 14120), allowing only the Media or authorized personalto access the program. This access control is important because theConfiguration Program 6717 may control substantial portions of the Mediasales of goods and services and therefore the presentations should onlybe created or modified by authorized personnel.

[0364] Upon accessing the Configuration Program 6717, the newMedia/client is presented with a series of forms containing yes/nochoices, text entry areas, menu-driven choices, and other data andinformation entry methods. These forms lead the Media through hisestablishment as a client of the given instance of the presentinvention. This portion of the Configuration Program 6717 prompts theMedia for information such as contact numbers, contact address, paymentmethods, and other Media/client information for the use of themanagement of the instance of the present invention in working with andservicing the Media. This portion of the Configuration Program 6717 alsopresents the service contract for the review and agreement of the Media.This agreement, complete with the management information, is thentransmitted to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000along with all other Media/client information upon the first submissionof the Media presentation information. In the case of an existingMedia/client, the Media enters his password (block 14120) to access thebody of the program for creation and maintenance of his presentations.

[0365] Upon entering the information to establish the clientrelationship, the new Media/client is presented with the forms that givethe choices of presentations, interactive Media presentations, residentand non-resident media. These choices are accompanied with descriptionsof each choice and the approximate cost of each presentation. Thisinformation comes from the Presentation Rules Database 6650 for thepresentation information and from the Media Database 6636 for theinformation about the content, products and services that the Media willoffer to assist the seller. In many cases the Media will be receivingtransactions and taking orders over the instance of the presentinvention as well as advertising to the Sellers. The Media may be giventhe option of paying for the services by monthly, quarterly, or annualsubscriptions; on a per sale or percentage basis; some combination ofany of the above; or another payment method. As an example, let us saythat the instance of the present invention is configured (as in aprevious Seller's example) to support the “Sailboats For Sale” and theexample Media is a sailing magazine. The Media may be given choices oroptions of including information such as, presenting samples ofclassified or display ads of sample photos, type sizes and typessupported, ink colors available, stock graphics available, etc. TheMedia could then choose the type of presentation as well as the methodsof presenting their products or services (blocks 14130, 14132) to theSellers as presented by the Media Configuration Program 6717. TheConfiguration Program 6717 would then prompt the Media for the necessaryand optional information to complete the presentations (block 14140,14142).

[0366] After the Media has chosen the methods and means of communicationand has entered the information necessary to create all the selectedpresentations, the Configuration Program 6717 notifies the Media of thecost of and payment methods acceptable for those presentations ormodifications and prompts the Media for acceptance of the charges. Ifthe Media does not accept the charges, then the Configuration Program6717 rolls the information or modifications back and notifies the MediaVenue that the information will not be published or modified (blocks14150-14156).

[0367] The Media is allowed to print reports for management review orfor hard copy records. Those reports include the charges and conditionsthat have been agreed to by the Media (blocks 14160, 14162).

[0368] The information entered, either as a new presentation or asmodifications to an existing presentation, can be sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 immediately or delayed forpublication later. The reasons for delay could be that the presentationis to become effective on a given date or is a special promotional offerto be offered on a certain date (blocks 14170, 14172).

[0369] The Communication and Transport Program 6760 performs thetransmission of Media presentation information from the Media Interface6000 to the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000. TheCommunication and Transport Program 6760 utilizes either the modem ornetwork connections to perform this transmission. The Communication andTransport Program 6760 applies the appropriate level of encryption ofdata necessary, depending on the method of transmission. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the connection used fortransmission between the Media Interface 6000 and the Central Controllerand Presentation Processor 1000 is a direct dial-up modem connection.This configuration is more secure than public networks, even withencryption, and, due to the relatively small amount of data transmitted,has sufficient transmission capacity (blocks 14180-14190).

[0370] Once the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000receives the presentation message from the Media Interface 6000 (block14200), the Media Generation Program 1790 determines if the presentationmessage is information from a new Media Venues/client or modification toan existing current presentation from an existing Media Venues/client(block 15210). If it is a presentation message from a new MediaVenues/client, the presentation message is passed to the GeneralManagement Program 1730. The General Management Program 1730 sets up thenecessary Media Venues/client control accounts, payment information,contact information, database records, and any other administrativefunctions necessary to establish the Media Venues/client within theinstance of the present invention and allows the creation ofpresentations by the Media Generation Program 1790 (blocks 14212,14214). If the presentation message is from an existing Media/client,the presentation message does not leave the control of the MediaGeneration Program 1790, which confirms the authenticity of theMedia/client presentation message prior to processing the message (block14220, 14222).

[0371] Once the Media Generation Program 1790 has either confirmed theauthenticity and origin of the presentation message or the message haspassed through the General Management Program 1730, the Media GenerationProgram 1790 then analyses the information using the format and styleguidelines contained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650 (blocks14230, 14232). This process parallels the functions performed by MediaConfiguration Program 6717 and the Presentation Rules Database 6650.This duplication of function ensures both quality control of content andprevents tampering of the process by either the Media or anynon-authorized entity. This duplication of function also ensures thatthe latest version of the Presentation Rules Database 1650 has beenapplied to every presentation. This embodiment of the present inventionupdates any changes in the Presentation Rules Database 1650 to thePresentation Rules Database 6650 using update messages to the MediaInterface 6000. Although this method should result in the MediaConfiguration Program 6717 always using the best and most currentinformation that has been updated to the Presentation Rules Database6650, the integrity of the presentations is critical enough to requirethe duplication of this function.

[0372] During the analysis of the presentation performed by the MediaGeneration Program 1790, the program reviews the information and assignsthe presentations into one of three processing categories: pass, fail,and needs review (blocks 14240-14272). A presentation in the “fail”category causes a rollback of data in the Presentation Database 1640,and a message is sent to the Media notifying them that the presentationfailed and the reason why (blocks 14242-14246). Messages are also sentto the management of the instance of the present invention because thesynchronization of the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and PresentationRules Database 6650 should prevent this failure. The management wouldinvestigate the reason for the failure and take appropriate action.Those presentations in the “needs review” category are ones which havecontent that is not recognized as being either allowed or not allowed bythe Media Generation Program 1790. These presentations are referred to ahuman operator for review (blocks 14250-14262). The operator will pass,fail, or edit the presentations at this point. Those that fail return toblock 14242. Those that are edited are sent back to block 14230. Thisforces the analysis done by the Media Generation Program 1790 to passevery presentation. It is through this process of forcing corrections tobe made, examined, and reviewed by management that the informationcontained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and the algorithmswhich apply that information within Media Generation Program 1790 arerefined (block 14272).

[0373] Once the presentation has worked through the analysis and reviewprocess, the Media Generation Program 1790 passes information to theGeneral Management Program 1730 confirming the acceptability of thepresentations. The General Management Program 1730 then confirms paymentmethod and amounts, processes credit card payments, updates databases,and performs any other administrative procedures necessary (blocks14280-14284).

[0374] Having passed the presentation information for content and style,the Media Generation Program 1790 next determines the categories andpresentation indexes within the present invention in which thisinformation should be presented to the Sellers (blocks 14290-14296). Inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, each CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 may support any number ofMedia.

[0375] The Presentation Generation Program 1790, using the informationcontained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650, then formats thepresentation information for each Media (blocks 14300, 14294). Newpresentations are created in their entirety, while only the portions ofexisting presentations affected by any modifications are republished.After creating or modifying the presentations, messages confirming anyedits or modifications of submissions are created and sent to the Media(blocks 14310-14336).

[0376] Presentations that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 will directly publish on media such as the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 may be published either on an“urgent” or “course of business” basis. This designation is set by theMedia Venues at the time that the “original presentation” or “update toa publication” information is sent to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 thereby allowing the Media a measure ofcontrol if the nature of the presentation or correction warrants it. The“urgent” designation means that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 will process that presentation as soon as it receives themessage. The “course of business” designation allows the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 to place the presentation andany associate files into a queue for processing and publishing at a timewhen the resources of the network are at their lowest utilization(blocks 14370-14374).

[0377] At this point the Media Generation Program 1790 contains all thepresentations and presentation components that have been created oredited. The Media Generation Program 1790 will proceed to publish orplace the presentations and any supporting components in their properlocations on the Central Presentation and Selection Servers (block14390-14414).

[0378] Third Party Creative and Management Professionals' Use of PresentInvention.

[0379] The preferred embodiment of the present invention allows ThirdParty Creative and Management Professionals to have a “self-serve”vendor or supplier relationship to the Sellers who use the presentinvention to access, create and manage presentations intended forpublication within the present invention or on the networks,directories, indexes, printed media, and other sales and advertisingchannels (resident and non-resident media) available to the sellersthrough and serviced by the given instance of the present invention.These Third Party Creative and Management Professionals' services,content, and products may be purchased or contracted for and wherenecessary managed by the Seller within the present invention. For theSeller this relationship and process is accomplished through thePresentation and Configuration Program 4715 which allows for theinteractive access to the resident and non-resident media as well as theservices, content, and products of the Third Party Professionals. Forthe Third Party Professional the process is controlled through the3^(rd) P.P. Configuration Program 7717, which allows for the interactiveaccess, by the Third Party Professional. Through the 3^(rd) P.P.Configuration Program 7717 a presentation may be created and presentedthrough the Central Control and Presentation Processor 1000 and theSeller Interface 4000 to those Sellers using the present Invention. TheThird Party Professional obtains the Configuration Program 7717 oneither a compact disc (CD-ROM), DVD disc, downloaded file, or some othermethod, then installs the Configuration Program 7717 and its associatedprograms on an either dedicated or shared-use computer (diagrammed block15102 to 15106 FIG. 7a). This embodiment of this component of thepresent invention is shown as Third Party Professional Interface 7000FIG. 2f, which shows the relationship between the Configuration Program7717 and the associated hardware, programs and databases of Third PartyProfessional Interface 7000.

[0380] Once installed and configured, the Configuration Program 7717allows the Third Party Professional to control access to the programthrough password protection (block 15120), allowing only the Third PartyProfessional or authorized personal to access the program. This accesscontrol is important because the Configuration Program 7717 may controlsubstantial portions of the Third Party Professional's sales of goodsand services and therefore the presentations should only be created ormodified by authorized personnel.

[0381] Upon accessing the Configuration Program 7717, the new ThirdParty Professional/client is presented with a series of forms containingyes/no choices, text entry areas, menu-driven choices, and other dataand information entry methods. These forms lead the Third PartyProfessional through his establishment as a client of the given instanceof the present invention. This portion of the Configuration Program 7717prompts the Third Party Professional for information such as contactnumbers, contact address, payment methods, and other Third PartyProfessional/client information for the use of the management of theinstance of the present invention in working with and servicing theThird Party Professional. This portion of the Configuration Program 7717also presents the service contract for the review and agreement of theThird Party Professional. This agreement, complete with the managementinformation, is then transmitted to the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 along with all other Third PartyProfessional/client information upon the first submission of the ThirdParty Professional's presentation information. In the case of anexisting Third Party Professional/client, the Third Party Professionalenters his password (block 15120) to access the body of the program forcreation and maintenance of his presentations.

[0382] Upon entering the information to establish the clientrelationship with the operators of the present invention, the new ThirdParty Professional/client is presented with the forms that give thechoices of presentations, interactive Third Party Professionalpresentations, resident and nonresident media. These choices areaccompanied with descriptions of each choice and the approximate cost ofeach presentation. This information comes from the Presentation RulesDatabase 7650 for the presentation information and from the 3^(rd) p. P.Database 7636 for the information about the content, products andservices that the Third Party Professional will offer to assist theseller. In many cases the Third Party Professional will be receivingtransactions and taking orders over the instance of the presentinvention as well as advertising to the Sellers. The Third PartyProfessional may be given the option of paying for the services bymonthly, quarterly, or annual subscriptions; on a per sale or percentagebasis; some combination of any of the above; or another payment method.As an example, let us say that the instance of the present invention isconfigured (as in a previous Seller's example) to support the “SailboatsFor Sale,” and the example Third Party Professional intends to offerstock photos. The Third Party Professional may be given choices oroptions such as, presenting of a few or 1000,s of sample photos, variousmethods of photo selection, various communication and advisory methods,etc. The Third Party Professional could then choose the type ofpresentation as well as the methods of presenting their products orservices (blocks 15130, 15132) to the Sellers as presented by thePresentation and Configuration Program 4715 (FIG. 4a blocks 11135 goingto FIG. 8a). The Configuration Program 7717 would then prompt the ThirdParty Professional for the necessary and optional information tocomplete the presentations (block 15140, 15142).

[0383] After the Third Party Professional has chosen the methods andmeans of communication and has entered the information necessary tocreate all the selected presentations, the Configuration Program 7717notifies the Third Party Professional of the cost of and payment methodsacceptable for those presentations or modifications and prompts theThird Party Professional for acceptance of the charges. If the ThirdParty Professional does not accept the charges, then the ConfigurationProgram 7717 rolls the information or modifications back and notifiesthe Third Party Professional that the information will not be publishedor modified (blocks 15150-15156).

[0384] The Third Party Professional is allowed to print reports formanagement review or for hard copy records. Those reports include thecharges and conditions that have been agreed to by the Third PartyProfessional (blocks 15160, 15162).

[0385] The information entered, either as a new presentation or asmodifications to an existing presentation, can be sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 immediately or delayed forpublication later. The reasons for delay could be that the presentationis to become effective on a given date or is a special promotional offeris to be offered on a certain date (blocks 15170, 15172).

[0386] The Communication and Transport Program 7760 performs thetransmission of the Third Party Professional's presentation informationfrom the Third Party Professional Interface 7000 to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000. The Communication andTransport Program 7760 utilizes either the modem or network connectionsto perform this transmission. The Communication and Transport Program7760 applies the appropriate level of encryption of data necessary,depending on the method of transmission. In this embodiment of thepresent invention, the connection used for transmission between theThird Party Professional Interface 7000 and the Central Controller andPresentation Processor 1000 is a direct dial-up modem connection. Thisconfiguration is more secure than public networks, even with encryption,and, due to the relatively small amount of data transmitted, hassufficient transmission capacity (blocks 15180-15190).

[0387] Once the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000receives the presentation message from the Third Party ProfessionalInterface 7000 (block 15200), the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795determines if the presentation message is information from a new ThirdParty Professional/client or modification to an existing currentpresentation from an existing Third Party Professional/client (block15210). If it is a presentation message from a new Third PartyProfessional/client, the presentation message is passed to the GeneralManagement Program 1730. The General Management Program 1730 sets up thenecessary Third Party Professional/client control accounts, paymentinformation, contact information, database records, and any otheradministrative functions necessary to establish the Third PartyProfessional/client within the instance of the present invention andallows the creation of presentations by the 3^(rd) p p. GenerationProgram 1795 (blocks 15212, 15214). If the presentation message is froman existing Third Party Professional/client, the presentation messagedoes not leave the control of the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795,which confirms the authenticity of the Third Party Professional/clientpresentation message prior to processing the message (block 15220,15222).

[0388] Once the 3^(rd) p. P. Generation Program 1795 has eitherconfirmed the authenticity and origin of the presentation message or themessage has passed through the General Management Program 1730, the 3rdP.P. Generation Program 1795 then analyses the information using theformat and style guidelines contained within the Presentation RulesDatabase 1650 (blocks 15230, 15232). This process parallels thefunctions performed by the 3^(rd) P.P. Configuration Program 7717 andthe Presentation Rules Database 7650. This duplication of functionensures both quality control of content and prevents tampering of theprocess by either the Third Party Professional or any non-authorizedentity. This duplication of function also ensures that the latestversion of the Presentation Rules Database 1650 has been applied toevery presentation. This embodiment of the present invention updates anychanges in the Presentation Rules Database 1650 to the PresentationRules Database 7650 using update messages to the Third PartyProfessional Interface 7000. Although this method should result in the3^(rd) p. P. Configuration Program 7717 always using the best and mostcurrent information that has been updated to the Presentation RulesDatabase 7650, the integrity of the presentations is critical enough torequire the duplication of this function.

[0389] During the analysis of the presentation performed by the 3rd P.P.Generation Program 1795, the program reviews the information and assignsthe presentations to one of three processing categories: pass, fail, andneeds review (blocks 15240-15272). A presentation in the “fail” categorycauses a rollback of data in the Presentation Database 1640, and amessage is sent to the Third Party Professional notifying them that thepresentation failed and the reason why (blocks 15242-15246). Messagesare also sent to the management of the instance of the present inventionbecause the synchronization of the Presentation Rules Database 1650 andPresentation Rules Database 7650 should prevent this failure. Themanagement would investigate the reason for the failure and takeappropriate action. Those presentations in the “needs review” categoryare ones which have content that is not recognized as being eitherallowed or not allowed by the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795. Thesepresentations are referred to a human operator for review (blocks15250-15262). The operator will pass, fail, or edit the presentations atthis point. Those that fail return to block 15242. Those that are editedare sent back to block 15230. This forces the analysis done by the 3rdP.P. Generation Program 1795 to pass every presentation. It is throughthis process of forcing corrections to be made, examined, and reviewedby management that the information contained within the PresentationRules Database 1650 and the algorithms which apply that informationwithin the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795 are refined (block 15272).

[0390] Once the presentation has worked through the analysis and reviewprocess, the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795 passes information to theGeneral Management Program 1730 confirming the acceptability of thepresentations. The General Management Program 1730 then confirms paymentmethod and amounts, processes credit card payments, updates databases,and performs any other administrative procedures necessary (blocks15280-15284).

[0391] Having passed the presentation information for content and style,the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795 next determines the categories andpresentation indexes within the present invention in which thisinformation should be presented to the Sellers (blocks 15290-15296). Inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, each CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 may support any number ofThird Party Professionals.

[0392] The 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795, using the informationcontained within the Presentation Rules Database 1650, then formats thepresentation information for each Third Party Professionals (blocks15300, 15294). New presentations are created in their entirety, whileonly the portions of existing presentations affected by anymodifications are republished. After creating or modifying thepresentations, messages confirming any edits or modifications ofsubmissions are created and sent to the Third Party Professionals(blocks 15310-15336).

[0393] Presentations that the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 will directly publish on media such as the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 may be published either on an“urgent” or “course of business” basis. This designation is set by theThird Party Professionals at the time that the “original presentation”or “update to a publication”. Information is sent to the CentralController and Presentation Processor 1000 thereby allowing the ThirdParty Professionals a measure of control if the nature of thepresentation or correction warrants it. The “urgent” designation meansthat the Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000 will processthat presentation as soon as it receives the message. The “course ofbusiness” designation allows the Central Controller and PresentationProcessor 1000 to place the presentation and any associate files into aqueue for processing and publishing at a time when the resources of thenetwork are at their lowest utilization (blocks 15370-15374).

[0394] At this point the 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795 contains allthe presentations and presentation components that have been created oredited. The 3rd P.P. Generation Program 1795 will proceed to publish orplace the presentations and any supporting components in their properlocations on the Central Presentation and Selection Servers (block15390-15414).

[0395] Example Use of Invention

[0396] The following is a hypothetical example for the use of thepresent Invention in one possible embodiment. Only the major steps areincluded in this example to give an overview of one possible applicationor embodiment of the present invention. This example demonstrates someof the possible interface and interactions between operators of theinvention, sellers or providers of goods or services, third partyprofessionals that supply content, products and services to the sellers,and customers or buyers of those goods or services. It is also meant togive an overview of the transaction flow of information, purchasedecisions, and possible consummation of those purchase decisions.

[0397] For the purpose of this hypothetical example, we will presumethat this instance of the Invention has been established for some timeand is managed by the ABC Company that promotes it to ProfessionalSports Franchises and Venues.

[0398] Example Clients Are:

[0399] Seller:

[0400] XYZ is a corporation that owns the XYZ professional basketballteam and wishes to promote that team and sell its tickets as efficientlyas possible.

[0401] Media:

[0402] DEF is a basketball oriented web site owned by the DEFCorporation with content and discussion groups about the sport ofbasketball. Its demographics are centered on young male basketballenthusiasts.

[0403] GHI is an all sports oriented web site owned by the GHICorporation with content and discussion groups covering all sports. Itsdemographics are largely young male.

[0404] JKL is a national sports magazine, published by the JKLCorporation monthly with subscription and retail rack sales. Itsdemographics are centered on an all sports audience.

[0405] MNO is a sports newsletter, published by the MNO Corporation witha circulation that is primarily within the geographic area of the homestadium of the XYZ basketball team.

[0406] PQR is a broad-based chain of newspapers published across thecountry by the PQR Holding Corporation. Their circulation is a generalone with a sports section daily and a special sports insert on weekends.

[0407] STU is a chain of music and video stores that have displayswithin their stores allowing sports and event information and ticketsales. Their stores are located within urban malls and their customerbase primarily is mixed gender between 15 and 25 years of age with gooddisposable income and leisure time. STU has also installed the biometricreaders necessary to do the initial entry of buyers into the ticket andreservation network, which is part of the ABC instance of the invention.

[0408] Third Party Professionals:

[0409] AAA Corporation is a stock photo supply house that specializes insports related photographs of all sports. They supply action photos aswell as stylized photos and graphics for sports teams and sports venues.

[0410] BBB is an independent contractor who is a free lance adcopywriter that has sports related experience.

[0411] CCC Partnership is an advertising agency that handles sportsteams and sports venues. Their experience is well known within theindustry and their account representatives are considered first rate.

[0412] Buyer:

[0413] John Q. Public is a basketball enthusiast.

[0414] Media Participation:

[0415] The DEF Corporation was approached by the ABC Company and agreesto be represented on the ABC instance of the invention.

[0416] 1) The DEF Corporation decides that it will promote one of thefive Internet Web Sites that it publishes on the ABC instance of theinvention. DEF will promote its basketball site because it matches wellwith the focus and demographics of the ABC instance of the invention.

[0417] 2) ABC sends DEF the necessary software to be installed on theircomputer.

[0418] 3) A computer operator at DEF installs the software on theircomputer that then is configured as Media Interface 6000 FIG. 2e.

[0419] 4) After installation and setup the DEF operator does basicinformation input as prompted by the Media Interface 6000 FIG. 2e of thepresent Invention.

[0420] 5) After the input of basic information by the operator, theMedia Interface 6000 prompts the operator for input that describes andsets the standards for the presentations that Seller Clients of ABC willuse (by way of the invention to publish presentations) on the DEF WebSite. The inputs set the upper and lower limits of quantities such asamounts of text and size of images, restrictions of language andreference, standards of style and presentation, choices of type fontsand colors, as well as the cost of presentations and demographics of theDEF subscribers or viewers. Any disclaimers and contracts or agreementsare added to be delivered and acknowledge electronically concurrent withthe submission of presentations.

[0421] 6) DEF has also chosen to offer interactive sales of appropriateproducts and services through its web site as managed by the ABC CentralPresentation and Selection Server.

[0422] 7) At any point during the input of information the operator maytest the presentations that will be created using the standards setwithin the Media Interface 6000 FIG. 2e. This allows the operator andDEF's management to insure that those presentations received forpublication from the ABC Seller Clients will indeed meet the standardsfor DEF publication.

[0423] 8) The other Media GHI, JKL, MNO, PQR, and STU have gone througha similar process to establish their Media offerings on the ABC instanceof the invention.

[0424] 9) The following steps pick up from the Sellers Participationbelow at step number 18. That Seller's action effects the followingmedia.

[0425] 10) The DEF Sports Web receives electronically the Sellerinformation, agreements, payment information, web pages to be displayedand banner advertising to be placed on their web site. DEF also receivesthe web interface for the sale of the XYZ tickets.

[0426] 11) The KLM Newspaper Chain receives electronically the Sellerinformation, agreements, payment information, a requested schedule of adplacement and publishing, and the formatted ads. Because KLM alsomaintains the associated web site it also receives the web interface forthe sale of the XYZ tickets.

[0427] 12) The HIJ Basketball Magazine receives electronically theSeller information, agreements, payment information, a requestedschedule of ad placement and publishing, and the formatted ads to beplaced in their magazine.

[0428] 13) The STU music stores receive electronically the Sellerinformation, agreements, payment information, and the interface for thesale of the XYZ tickets on its in-store displays.

[0429] 14) Once the Ads and Presentations are received by the Media, anychanges or updating are either allowed or denied by the Seller Interface4000 FIG. 2c based on the restrictions entered by the Media during theirsetup.

[0430] Third Party Professional Participation:

[0431] The AAA and CCC Corporations and BBB (an independent contractor)were approached by the ABC Company and agreed to be represented on theABC instance of the invention.

[0432] 1) The AAA Corporation decides that it will offer its full lineof sports related photographs on the ABC instance of the invention. AAAmade that decision because of the close fit between the Sellers thatutilize the ABC instance of the invention are a good match to AAA'starget clients for its sports related photographs.

[0433] 2) ABC sends AAA the necessary software to be installed on theircomputer.

[0434] 3) A computer operator at AAA installs the software on theircomputer that then is configured as Third Party Professional Interface7000 FIG. 2f.

[0435] 4) After installation and setup the AAA operator does basicinformation input as prompted by the Third Party Professional Interface7000 FIG. 2f of the present Invention.

[0436] 5) After the input of basic information by the operator, theThird Party Professional Interface 7000 prompts the operator for inputthat will describe and set the standards for the presentations thatSeller Clients of ABC will use (by way of the invention that publishespresentations via Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c) to select the photosoffered by AAA. This input set the terms and conditions of the selectionand use of the stock photos, as well as the cost of and conditions ofpayments, any restrictions for the use of each photo, method ofdelivery, and any other terms or conditions of AAA's offerings.Disclaimers and contracts or agreements are added to be electronicallydelivered and acknowledge concurrent with the selection of photos or theselection of other services that may be offered by AAA such as customphotos or graphics.

[0437] 6) AAA has also chosen to offer interactive sales of appropriateproducts and services through its web site as managed by the ABC CentralPresentation and Selection Server.

[0438] 7) The other Third Party Professionals, BBB, and CCC have gonethrough a similar process to establish their Third Party Professionalofferings on the ABC instance of the invention.

[0439] 8) The following steps pick up from the Sellers Participationbelow at step number 9. The Seller's action effects the following ThirdParty Professionals.

[0440] 9) The AAA Corporation receives electronically, via the ABCinstance of the invention, the XYZ information, agreements, paymentinformation, and specific stock photo request. The request is processedby AAA's accounting system and the request stock photo is delivered toXYZ via the ABC instance of the invention.

[0441] 10) BBB, who is an independent contractor performing ad copywriting services, received his necessary questionnaire allowing him tocreate a “Proposal of Services To Be Performed” to be delivered to theXYZ corporation for their approval. This system, of XYZ filling out aquestionnaire first, allows BBB to fully understand the assistance thata client may want and better customize his “Proposal of Services To BePerformed” so as to meet the needs of the client. This system also savesmeeting time for both BBB and his clients and avoids the retention ofBBB's services where they are not warranted or appropriate. Forclarification BBB personally calls the management of XYZ of some pointswithin the questionnaire. This clarification could have been done withinthe present invention but in order to expedite the completion of the“Proposal of Services To Be Performed” a personal call was made. Oncethe “Proposal of Services To Be Performed” is completed it is sent toXYZ via the ABC instance of the invention. XYZ approves the proposal andsents the required information and advance payment there by allowing BBBto start working on the XYZ promotion project. Within a few days BBBcompletes an initial draft and sends it via the ABC instance of theinvention to the management of XYZ. Drafts and remark responses areexchanged several times resulting in the completion of the ad copywriting as contracted to BBB. Final payments are made and the project iscompleted by BBB with ad copy delivered to XYZ for inclusion in themedia presentations.

[0442] 11) The CCC Advertising Agency has been retained by XYZ torecommend newspaper media venues that XYZ should use to promote theirbasketball team and its schedule. XYZ contacted an accountrepresentative of CCC through the ABC instance of the invention andreceived a quote for the desired services. CCC is retained because ofits extensive experience in the promotion of sports teams and itsworking relationship with many newspaper media venues. Although CCCrecommended several newspaper media venues it was finally decided afterseveral proposals and response between CCC and XYZ that the KLMNewspaper Chain would be the exclusive newspaper media venue used byXYZ. This was finally negotiated by CCC and additional price concessionswere made by the KLM Newspaper Chain to make this an excellentarrangement for XYZ.

[0443] 12) It should be noted that the working relationships developedby XYZ with the Third Party Professionals, as well as the Media, withinthe frame work of the ABC instance of the invention, can be and areintended to be an ongoing collaboration. XYZ obviously has the right andthe ability within the ABC instance of the invention to review newofferings of Third Party Professionals and Media Venues to enhance theirpresentations and promotions developed and maintained within the ABCinstance of the invention.

[0444] Seller Participation:

[0445] 1. The XYZ Corporation makes the decision to use ABC's servicesto promote its Basketball team.

[0446] 2. ABC sends XYZ the necessary software to be installed on theircomputer.

[0447] 3. A computer operator at XYZ installs the software on theircomputer that then is configured as Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c.

[0448] 4. After installation and setup the XYZ operator does basicinformation input as prompted by the Seller Interface 4000 FIG. 2c ofthe present Invention.

[0449] 5. After the input of basic information by the operator, theSeller Interface 4000 presents available media venues and associatedinformation for review by the XYZ Corporation management.

[0450] It should be noted that at any point after the completion of theinitial installation of the software and the completion of any stepsrequired by the operators of the invention to join the network, theSeller may review and purchase or retain any of the goods or services ofthe Third Party Professionals currently represented by the instance ofthe invention. In order to simplify this example the decisions regardingThird Party Professionals are deferred until step 9.

[0451] 6. ABC currently represents 15 different Media venues within itsinstance of the present invention. Information such as distribution,users or viewers, price, content restrictions, etc. about each Mediavenue is available for review by the XYZ management.

[0452] 7. XYZ management reviews available media and chooses The DEFSports Web, The HIJ Basket Ball Magazine, and The KLM Newspaper Chain toadvertise their schedule of games. With the KLM Newspaper there is alsothe associated KLM Web Site on which KLM offers information as well assales of products and services as advertised within the KLM Chain ofnewspapers. STU music stores are also chosen strictly for thedistribution and sales of tickets.

[0453] 8. The Seller Interface 4000 then presents the publication dates,any specific disclaimers, and the charges for review and approval by theXYZ management.

[0454] 9. Upon approval of those items, the Seller Interface 4000prompts the operator for the necessary text, graphics, and any otherinformation as required by the three chosen media to create and formatthe individual ads for the chosen media. As the operator is reviewingthe prompts and options from the Seller Interface 4000 with the XYZmanagement the decision is reached to take advantage of the Third PartyProfessionals available through the ABC instance of the invention.

[0455] a) Stock photos were reviewed and selected from the presentationof the available sports photos from the AAA Corp's presentation on theABC instance of the invention. AAA's presentation gave the necessaryinformation about the photos as well as the restrictions and conditionsof use and the necessary contracts for use and delivery of the stockphotos. Payment was made via the ABC instance of the invention anddelivery of the digital stock photos for immediate use was made over theABC instance of the invention.

[0456] b) In order to have a more polished and professional contentwithin the presentations being created XYZ's management decided toretain the services of the BBB as an independent contractor to write thead copy for these presentations. The necessary project questionnaire asrequired by BBB (BBB won't quote a job without this information) ispresented by the Seller Interface 4000 to be completed by XYZ'smanagement so that BBB can form a “Proposal of Services To Be Performed”which serves as BBB's contract. This process takes a day or two and alsoa personal telephone call from BBB to clarify some details. Once theproposal is created by BBB and sent via the ABC instance of theinvention for review and approval by XYZ's management then XYZ can makethe agreed upon advance payment as well as progress payments within thestructure of the ABC instance of the invention. With the “Proposal ofServices To Be Performed” agreed to and advance payment having beenmade, BBB starts work on the ad copy. This process is a coordinatedperformance and review system where ad copy is created by BBB andreviewed with comments by the management of XYZ. This create and reviewprocess continues until XYZ is satisfied with the results and signs offon the presentations.

[0457] c) XYZ's management has determined that the services of the CCCPartnership (an advertising agency) would be helpful in the selection ofthe which Newspaper Media Venues would be best for XYZ to promote itsBasketball Team. CCC is well known for its management of sportspromotion. XYZ contacts a representative of CCC within the ABC instanceof the invention by answering a series of questions presented by the CCCpresentation and receives a answer with quote and contract for servicesas well as some of their initial insights into their theory of promotingBasketball Teams in regional markets. XYZ uses the ABC instance of theinvention to appoint CCC as its agent for selecting and contracting withNewspaper Media Venues within the ABC instance of the invention. Thisallows CCC to use its expertise and contacts to better represent XYZwithin a more timely and efficient manner. As CCC performs its agreedupon duties copies of its actions and reports are forwarded to XYZautomatically by the ABC instance of the invention.

[0458] It should be noted that the above examples of products andservices offered by ABC to its Seller clients as well as the examples ofhow those products and services are delivered and performed are intendedonly to be a basic sample of the potential of the present invention.These examples are not to be construed as standards or limitations ofthe potential of the present invention, which may handle much morecomplex products and services. These are only basic examples intended todemonstrate the general basic uses of the present invention.

[0459] It should also be noted that the above interactions of the AAA,BBB, and CCC Third Party Professionals with the XYZ Corporation are alsoreferred to within the previous Third Party Professional Participationsection starting at step 9.

[0460] 10. XYZ management has also elected to offer tickets to theirbasketball games held within the XYZ stadium. They have installed thenecessary software that synchronizes the XYZ ticket sales and accountingsoftware with the sales and inventory control provided by the ABCinstance of the invention within the Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000. XYZ chooses to offer ticket sales on the DEF Sports Web,the KLM Newspaper associated site that offers interactive electronicsales, and the STU music and video stores in store electronic ticketsales displays.

[0461] 11) Due to the large number of seats within the stadium andsimilarity of pricing and desirability among each class of seat, XYZmanagement has also elected to use the Resource Saver Protocol to allowfor better customer service between the various sales outlets.

[0462] 12) The XYZ management sets the various seat and ticketrestrictions, standards and pricing. This information will be availableto the Buyer when purchasing through the ABC Central Presentation andSelection Server. Each seat or ticket class is assigned a maximum singlepurchase number and a buffer number, the total of those two numbersbecome the notification level. It is the notification level thatcontrols the flow of the communications involving the sale of ticketsfor XYZ.

[0463] 13) In order to take full advantage of the services offered bythe ABC Central Presentation and Selection Server XYZ elects to installnew automatic ticket vendors using the existing ID cards and biometricmethods supported by the ABC Central Presentation and Selection Server.

[0464] 14) At any point during the content input phase, the operator mayview the final formatted presentation products based on each Mediavenue's restructuring of the information to create specific Mediapresentations.

[0465] 15) When the XYZ management is satisfied with the results, aspresented by the Seller Interface 4000, they indicate their approval ofthe presentations and charges and then transmits the information to theABC Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000. In addition tothe presentation information, the game dates, ticket prices, andinformation that synchronize current sold and available tickets aretransmitted also.

[0466] 16) When the ABC Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000 receives the presentation information it establishes an account forXYZ, reviews and analyzes the presentation information submitted, andthen notifies XYZ as to the acceptance, editing or rejection of thematerial and any adjusted publishing dates.

[0467] 17) The ABC Central Controller and Presentation Processor 1000then transmits the appropriate formatted presentations to each mediathat was selected by XYZ.

[0468] 18) The flow of information transfers to the Media Participationsection above at step 9.

[0469] Buyer Use:

[0470] For this example we will follow John Q. Public (our examplebuyer) as he uses the invention.

[0471] John is an avid basketball fan and subscribes to the JKL sportsmagazine, receives the local PQR newspaper, and frequents the DEF website to participate in the free discussion groups centering onbasketball that are hosted there. John has seen the ads within the PQRnewspaper promoting the teams winning record and giving dates ofupcoming games. Within the ads it was stated that tickets could beobtained from the PQR web site.

[0472] (1) Unexpectedly one of John's friends called, stated that hewould be in town the next night and would it be possible to go to thebasketball game. John said that he would find out and call back. Johnremembered that the PQR newspaper ad for the XYZ team stated that onecould buy tickets at the PQR web site.

[0473] (2) John uses his computer and navigates to the PQR web site.Once there he finds the XYZ ticket purchase section, chooses the seatshe wants, and asks for availability.

[0474] (3) With availability confirmed John enters his paymentinformation and is then asked how he wants the tickets delivered to him.This presents a dilemma for John because he must work tomorrow and willnot have time to go to the stadium to pickup the tickets. He could pickthem up at a “will call” station when he and his friend go to the game,but there is always a long line and John does not want to wait.

[0475] (4) Another option that is presented to John is that of using oneof several forms of ID (either credit cards, ID cards, or biometric) asthe identification method in lieu of advanced ticket delivery to him.John recognizes that he has one of the accepted brands of Credit Cardand chooses to use the system using that Credit Card as his personal ID.He enters the card number as his ID, the system accepts the ID and givesJohn instructions as to the systems use when they arrive at the stadium.

[0476] (5) John calls his friend back and they agree to meet just beforethe game.

[0477] (6) When John and his friend meet at the stadium they are lateand the game is about to start. There is a long line at the “will call”booth and John is glad to avoid that line. John goes to the AutomaticTicket Vending Machine, swipes his credit card, and the Automatic TicketVending Machine prints the tickets with the seat location and dispensesthem to John.

[0478] (7) John and his friend enter the stadium to watch the game.

[0479] (8) During the game John notices within the free program a noticethat he can have his thumbprint taken at the “Will Call” both and thenthat will become his identification method when he next attends an eventat the XYZ stadium. As John is leaving the game, he stops and has histhumb print scanned to serve as his future identification.

SUMMARY

[0480] In the simplest scenario when the chosen section or ticketcategory was not near a sell out (reaching notification level), thesales location that John was purchasing from simply assigned a set oftickets for that section and confirms the sale. The sales location thentransmits all data to the Central Presentation and Selection Server 1000that transmits the information to the XYZ Seller Interface 4000 thatthen passes the information to the XYZ in-house Accounting and TicketSales software.

[0481] Whenever sales in any given section reaches the notificationlevel then all sales sites are notified that the quantity of availabletickets is limited and that all sales must be confirmed with the Sellerprior to releasing confirmation of the sale to the buyer.

[0482] With the Biometric scan (thumbprint) that John had done as he wasleaving the stadium he can now reserve seats at any of the eventsfeatured on the ABC instance of the current invention and will be ableto use his thumbprint as his ID for access to the event or facilityinstead of or in addition to his existing Credit Card.

[0483] Presentation Generation Program:

[0484] This component of the present invention relates to the creationand placement of presentations of commercial information with thepurpose of informing buyers as to available products, goods, andservices. The invention's purpose is to allow the seller the ability toinfluence the buyer and induce said buyer to purchase those products,goods, and services while specifically allowing for the advancedpurchase or reservation of those products, good, and services whenappropriate.

[0485] The invention allows sellers to create presentations on theircomputers that are automatically transmitted to be published and viewedon a variety of traditional and electronic media networks. The presentinvention partially resides on the sellers' computers, controls andedits the presentation, and then automatically transmits thatinformation and data for publication on traditional media and electronicnetworks. The present invention also allows the seller to review andthen purchase the offering of goods and services by Creative andManagement Third Party Professionals. These Creative and ManagementThird Party Professionals may then perform or assist the sellers inperforming the functions necessary to create and promote successfulpresentations within the present invention. The present invention allowsthe sellers to have Third Party Professionals act as their agents forthe performance of any functions within the present invention. Theseller may then monitor the progress and actions of those Third PartyProfessionals that they have contracted with or purchased content,products, or services from.

[0486] The invention allows for the automatic publishing or updating ofpresentations within a simple environment that does not requirelower-level coding or formatting of the presentation material. Thepresent invention employs a text-only entry of information and data,thereby not requiring the seller to have knowledge of presentationcomputer codes or low-level formatting.

[0487] The invention will provide substantial savings in this area ofcommerce because the seller can choose the media or outlet for sale ofhis products, goods, or services. His instance of the present inventioncan then create presentations that conform to each and every mediaoutlet he chooses, submit the presentation, and prepare a report of thecost for such publication choices. The present invention allows sellersaccess to Creative and Management Third Party Professionals in anefficient structured environment that would otherwise not be availableto the sellers thereby allowing more effective and professionalpresentations to be created and submitted to the media venues. TheseCreative and Management Third Party Professionals may provide goods orservices that can be purchased by the sellers either to augment thesellers efforts or to wholly take over the duties of the creation andmanagement of the presentations for the seller thereby acting as theagent of the seller. The present invention provides the controlling,monitoring, and reporting structure of Third Party Professionals tobetter allow the seller to purchase their services or goods and managetheir participation in the presentation and promotion process.

[0488] The present invention allows sellers to offer their inventory,products, goods, and services for sale in a choice of one or a varietyof supported media outlets: in print, such as newspapers, magazines,periodicals, guidebooks, catalogs, brochures, fliers and directories; inelectronic form, such as online directories, web sites, bulletin boards,news groups, CD-ROMS, and interactive media and networks; and in othermedia, such as billboards, skywriters, bus benches, radio, interactivekiosk, and any other form of customer outreach or informationdistribution.

[0489] After the seller makes these media choices, the present inventionprompts him for information, based on the criteria set forth by eachmedia outlet and held in The Presentation Rules Database 1650 and 4650,that is then used in the creation of presentations. The PresentationRules Database 1650 and 4650 holds all the criteria, formattingarchitecture, distribution factors, and prices for each participatingmedia outlet.

[0490] The present invention's Presentation Generation Program 1710,along with the Presentation Rules Database 1650 and 4650, not onlycreates a presentation designed to conform to the requirements set forthby each media, but it also “dynamically generates” both staticpresentations which can be accessed by traditional search methods of thebuyer and dynamic presentations which respond to the buyer. Thisfunction creates two very distinctively different presentations in alabor-saving database method so the seller can save time and resourceswhile creating presentations that incorporate the best of both “dynamic”and “static” type of presentations. {Note: static presentations areeasily indexed and accessed by search engine and search modes. These arethe best formats for accessibility in electronic media. Dynamicpresentations are database-driven and respond to the queries of theviewer (buyer) with current and real-time inventory changes, updates,and control}. An Internet or Intranet presentation that utilizes bothmethods for delivering information is far superior to any otherpresentation online today.

[0491] The Presentation Generation Program allows for the creation oftraditional and electronic sales and information by minimally trainedpersonnel who merely have to input information into the program, aidedby prompting from the present invention.

[0492] Once the present invention generates the presentation, it eitherautomatically publishes the presentation to the appropriate electronicdestination or holds the presentation for a scheduled publication dateto be submitted for a particular deadline or predetermined promotionalmarket. These presentations can be updated for either presentationcontent or inventory control in near real time by either manual orautomatic means via electronic message units from third-party managementor inventory control software. This means the seller can update orcontrol his inventory in every media with just one in-house updatingfunction.

[0493] The presentations created by the present invention allow for thesale of the products, goods, or services and for the making of paymentsby buyers on those interactive sites that support electronic sales.Inventory adjustments for production, sales, and other reasons are madein near real time, allowing for an accurate presentation of availabilityof inventory to buyers in all supported media. The present invention,when used in both electronic and traditional media, also allows forlower cost to both the seller and the media management by creating aself-serve, automated billing environment for the seller's creation andpublishing of the presentations. The present invention providessubstantial savings in the area of commerce because it allows fortransactions to occur instantly at “point of sale” or, to use anappropriately faster term, “point of decision”.

[0494] The present invention also creates presentations for the Creativeand Management Third Party Professionals to allow for the presentationand sale of the products, goods, or services that they represent for theconsumption and support of the sellers in their quest to create andmanage their presentations. Inventory and presentation adjustments forproduction, sales, and other reasons are made in near real time,allowing for an accurate presentation of availability of the inventoryof the Third Party Professionals to sellers. The present inventioncreates a self-serve interactive environment for the sellers to accessand take advantage of the products, goods, or services of the ThirdParty Professionals. The efficient electronic environment and theefficiencies of scale also allows for lower cost to both the seller andthe Third Party Professionals. This is accomplished by creating aself-serve, automated billing environment for the seller's creation andpublishing of the presentations in collaboration with or with thesupport of the Third Party Professionals. The present invention providessubstantial savings in the area of commerce for the Third PartyProfessionals because it allows for better exposure and review by thesellers as well as allowing the transactions to occur instantly at the“point of decision” of the over all presentation creation process.

[0495] Interactive Sale and Reservations:

[0496] On the buyer's side of the process, the present inventionprovides consistent, vendor-appropriate information in all forms ofmedia for products, goods, and services offered for sale. Prior art, inregards to online presentations, often does not give the buyer currentinformation because that inventory must be manually updated, soreal-time or near real-time transaction becomes an inaccurate phrase.The information the buyer gets from one media outlet, electronic mall,or directory may be in conflict from another media outlet, electronicmall, or directory. This conflicting information may contribute to aBuyer's potential dissatisfaction of the Seller and the whole onlinepresentation and sales process.

[0497] As previously stated, the present invention's electronicpresentations are created to give the buyer products, goods, andservices that are easily accessible and that dynamically produce thelatest, current information, pricing, and availability. Because theseller can automatically update all media outlets from his in-housemanagement or accounting software or an instance of the presentinvention, the buyer can feel confident in getting current informationand inventory. The Buyer has the choice to either conduct a search forthe desired products, goods, or services using the on-site searchcapabilities or browse the presentations much the same way one wouldbrowse the aisles of books at a library.

[0498] Once the Buyer has made a selection on those supportedinteractive outlets, he can purchase, reserve, or hold products, goods,or services. The present invention will then tell him that his requestis available and ask him to reaffirm his choice.

[0499] If his selection is not available, the present invention may givehim the opportunity to choose something else, change his purchaserequest, or provide him with optional choices from the Referral Database2670. The Referral Database is an option that Sellers can use torecommend other Sellers of similar products, goods, and services. In thecase of lodging facilities, often Sellers will refer their overflow toother lodging facilities in their immediate area. In the preferredembodiment of the present invention, Sellers will input referral toother Sellers into their instance of the present invention.

[0500] Once the Buyer has been assured that his choice of a product,goods, or service is available, the present invention will then prompthim to enter the information required by the Seller. The Buyer Database2610 maintains data on buyers who make interactive purchases orreservations of the products, goods, and services offered by the Sellerover the Central Presentation and Selection Server 2000 or IndependentPresentations 3000. Data fields may contain Buyer's name, network ordelivery ID, physical address, phone, email address, credit cardinformation, and any other information deemed necessary to support theBuyer and the Seller's required buyer information. If the Buyer haspreviously made a purchase through the same instance of the presentinvention, most or all the information needed may already be in theBuyer Database 2610. In this case, the information required by theSeller will come up on the screen and the Buyer will be prompted toupdate any information that may have changed or needs to be added.

[0501] Once the buyer has committed to a purchase and has completed allthe transaction data required, the commitment is transmitted to theseller and the inventory is updated. With the present invention,inventory control of the suppliers, vendors, service providers,purveyors, and other types of sellers is maintained with a transactionand confirmation message unit sent between the Central Presentation andSelection Servers 2000, Central Controller and Presentation Processor1000, and those suppliers, vendors, service providers and purveyors.

[0502] The present invention will then ask the Buyer to choose aconfirmation method. Choices of confirmation may be by phone, fax,email, confirmation number, or any requirements the Seller may selectfor proof of purchase. Once the Buyer chooses a method of confirmation,he can get a print-out of the Seller's commitment for delivery, aconfirmation number, or whatever means of confirmation determined by theSeller. As an example, he can even get a complete print-out ofdirections to the facility if the purchase involves him arriving at aplace of lodging, restaurant, arena, store, or any other facility.

[0503] Network ID Card:

[0504] This component of the present invention relates to theverification and substantiation of the purchase of access or admissionto those services or events that traditionally have controlled access bymeans of tickets, passes, admission documents, reservations, reservationconfirmations, or other substantiation at the facility, site, business,or venue.

[0505] The full implementation of the present invention makes the usualrequirement of delivery of tickets, passes, admission confirmations, orreservation confirmations unnecessary. These traditional conveyanceforms are replaced or augmented by the buyer's Reservation/TicketNetwork ID card or confirmation of biometric ID. The present inventionallows buyers of tickets, passes, admission documents, and reservedservices to purchase or reserve those tickets, passes, admissiondocuments, or services remotely.

[0506] The present invention allows the buyer to confirm or prove hispurchase at the facility, site, business, or venue by means of hisexisting magnetic, smart, or optical ID card; by entry code; or byelectronic biometric authentication. These means of proof can beapproved by the operators of an instance either for exclusive use forthat instance of the present invention, for multi-use in conjunctionwith other entities and the operators of the other instances of thepresent invention, or by a “piggy-back” method that will allow the issueor use of new or existing Credit Cards, Membership ID Cards, or other IDCards.

[0507] For those services or events that require printed tickets,passes, admission documents, reservation confirmations, or otherphysical substantiation, those means of confirmation can be printed ondemand from either automatic or manual vendors upon electronic readingor scanning of the buyer's ID card, entry of a code, or biometricauthentication. Network or Delivery ID cards may be approved by eitherone operator of an instance of the present invention or a group ofoperators of different instances of the present invention with cross-useallowed. Network or Delivery IDs may be Single-use or Multi-use cardsthat are also access cards to the Network or Delivery ID.

[0508] Resource Saver Protocol:

[0509] This component of the present invention provides a method andapparatus to control, coordinate, and synchronize the sales andavailability of either common, unique, or time-sensitive products,goods, and services. The present invention does this while allowing forthe purchase or reservation of these products, goods, and servicesthrough electronic networks and other diverse channels or outlets andkeeping control of inventory to prevent overselling or overbooking. Thepreferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes the ResourceSaver Protocol to reduce the number of messages sent and received by allcomponents of the present invention while maintaining the control andsynchronization of any qualified inventory that is interactively offeredfor sale. With the reductions in the quantity of messages needed tomaintain inventory synchronization, there is a corresponding reductionin all other aspects of communications and processing overhead betweenthe remote components and sales outlets.

[0510] The invention automatically updates all components of the presentinvention on multiple sites or media channels in a time-sensitive andtime-appropriate basis. The automatic two-way network communicationsmethod of the present invention provides the necessary coordination ofinventory and sales. With the added dimension of the Resource SaverProtocol, the Seller can divide his inventory into logical groups formarketing, presentation, and sales to the Buyer. Using a hotel as anexample, the instance of the present invention is configured torepresent Hotels and Lodging, and the Seller is a hotel with 312 roomsof the following types: 200 standard rooms, 100 upgrade rooms, and 12suites.

[0511] The setup of the Resource Saver Protocol is accomplished withinthe Presentation and Configuration Program 4715 or the Seller Interface4000. The Seller divides the inventory into its logical groups formarketing, presentation, and sales to the Buyer. In this case, thegroups are standard rooms, upgrade rooms, and suites. Each item in eachgroup of items must be substitutable with all the other items withinthat group.

[0512] If the inventory were not absolutely substitutable to any givenBuyer, then the Seller would not use the Resource Saver Protocol in thisinventory. That does not mean that all the Inventory items or groups ofa Seller must either be or not be controlled by the Resource SaverProtocol. The Seller may have any combination of Inventory items orgroups controlled or not controlled by the Resource Saver Protocol.

[0513] In the case of the current hotel example, the inventory isconsidered to be both Limited and Time Sensitive. There are only alimited number of rooms of each type, and they are time sensitive in thefact that the inventory is sold by the “unit night” which, if not soldand utilized by that night, can never be used or recovered.

[0514] The Seller must then set the maximum units of inventory that anygiven Buyer will be allowed to purchase in any given single transaction.In the hotel example, the Seller might set a limit of 5 rooms for anygiven Buyer to purchase from any Central Presentation and SelectionServer 2000 or other outlets serviced by this instance of the presentinvention. By setting a reasonable maximum number of units of inventorythat a Buyer may purchase, the Seller prevents that rare but possiblecase of a self-serve Buyer purchasing or reserving more inventories thanis available. The Buyer is still allowed to purchase or reserve as muchinventory as he likes, but the purchase must be transacted in sequential“maximum unit” transactions as opposed to one large transaction.

[0515] Next, the Seller sets a buffer number for each of the groups ofitems to be offered to the Buyer. The purpose of this buffer is to allowfor a margin of error, based on processing time and communicationdelays, to prevent the overselling of inventory (overbooking in thehotel example). This number is an estimate intended to be adjusted,based on the Seller's experience over time. In the hotel example, themanagement might set the buffer number at 10 units (twice the maximumsingle purchase) as a starting point, to be adjusted later based on theSellers experience.

[0516] Then the Seller must determine the Notification Level. This levelequals the maximum purchase units a Buyer can make at one time plus thebuffer number. For instance, if the Seller is a hotel, it has forpurchase 200 units of the same type of room, the maximum purchase unitsare 5 rooms, and the buffer number is 10 rooms, then his NotificationLevel would be 15. This means that the Seller would receivetransmissions from all of his outlets when a purchase is made. However,he would not have to communicate back to those outlets (via onetransmission message to the Central Processor and Control Server 1000)until his remaining units reached or breached the available inventorylevel of 15 units. If the level were reached or breached, transmissionsfor units within the unit group would be communicated back and forth foreach purchase from the available inventory level of 15 until all unitsare sold for that period of time.

[0517] A demonstration of the transmission savings for the example hotelwould be as follows. There are 100 rooms available at the example hoteland 5 sale outlets or channels are used. Without the use of the ResourceProtocol, 320 (80 messages each to 4 outlets) inventory update messageswould have to be sent in order to accomplish the total individualbooking of 80 rooms. Each outlet or channel would maintain theavailability count for the rooms, and one update message for the bookingof each room would be sent to each of the sale outlets or channels thatdid not originate a given sale. With presale verification of availableinventory for each transaction, our same example hotel would receive andsend a combination of 240 queries, responses, and updates (80 each) toreach the 80 rooms booked. The actual number could be much more becausethe 240 number assumes that each query results in a booking, whereas inactual practice, the experience would be that many queries did notresult in booking. In addition, the buyer would be required to wait forthe amount of time that it took for the transaction verification processto take place. That amount of time may or may not be significant,depending on several factors such as the current network use, networkconnection speeds, etc.

[0518] With the present invention, each sales outlet, channel, or othersource of unique or time-sensitive products queries availability onlyafter receiving notice of a predetermined inventory level or count. Thismeans that with our example hotel, only 80 booking messages would besent if the management sets the notification level (predeterminedavailable inventory count) at 15 units remaining. This would cause a 66%to 80% savings of communications and computer resources. For our examplehotel to reach 100% occupancy, the total message load would be 160messages (100 booking plus 60 update to four outlets or channels). Withverification being required, the total message load would be 190 (100booking plus 60 update plus 30 queries and responses). This compareswith a total of 500 messages without verification and 700 messages withverification (100 booking, plus 400 inventory update message, plus 200queries and responses for verification), showing savings of 68% to 73%,depending on the method used after the notification level is reached orbreached.

[0519] It should be noted that the savings generated are moresubstantial than they appear to be for some Seller types. This isbecause the typical total sales of inventory in any given period doesnot reach the level that triggers the notification of the CentralPresentation and Selection Servers 2000 or other outlets and channels.

[0520] For more common or commodity-like products, goods, or services,there is little concern of overselling. In order to conserve oncommunication and other resources, the Resource Saver Protocol allowsthe electronic networks and traditional sales outlets, channels, orother sources of sales to batch or hold the sales transaction messages.These messages are then transmitted once a certain quantity has beensold, once a specified time period has passed, or a combination of bothbases. The operator of a given instance of the present invention has theoption of settings for transmission levels or transmission periods andspecific transmission times, or general transmission times plus specificoutlet offsets.

[0521] As an example, a Seller of music CDs who has sufficient inventorymight set the transmission level at 35, the transmission period at 24hours, and the transmission time at 01:00 AM plus any offset. This wouldthen set the electronic networks and traditional sales outlets,channels, or other sources to either transmit transaction messages anytime they are holding 35 transactions or more, transmit transactionmessages at least every 24 hours, and/or transmit any remainingtransactions at 01:00 AM plus any offset. The instruction fortransmitting any remaining transactions at a specific time plus offsetallows the Seller to set each outlet's specific transactions so that thetransmissions are spread over some time frame. The Seller can thenchoose a time for transmission so he can take advantage of lowprocessing and communications loads. The potential savings by using thepresent invention in connection with controlling the inventory and salesof common products, goods, or services are obvious but widely varied,based on the Seller's settings and goals.

[0522] Operators of the present invention may provide additionaltransaction certainty and verification in the form of “confirmation ofthe transaction” messages or “inventory count” and/or “sequence numbers”data fields with each transaction message. All of these methods areoptional at the discretion of the operators of the instance of thepresent invention, based on their experience or concerns.

[0523] With the “confirmation of the transaction” method, a confirmationmessage is sent back to the originating outlet, repeating or confirmingeach transaction message that has been sent. Although this doubles themessage units passed between Sellers and outlets, these “confirmation ofthe transaction” messages can be sent at times of low processing andcommunications loads, thereby reducing the impact of their use. The useof these confirmation messages virtually reduces transmission errors tozero. This method can be used during initial periods to build operatorconfidence in the present invention more than as a method that is usedall the time.

[0524] The “inventory count” is a field that is passed on alltransaction messages where a total inventory has been established andeach outlet is comparing and subtracting each sales transaction fromthat inventory. The establishment of total inventory or noticedinventory is based on whether or not the Seller is using theNotification Level method of monitoring and controlling inventory. Ifthe Seller is not using that method, then the total inventory is knownby the outlets and is used as the “inventory count” to be passed. If theSeller is using the Notification Level method, then the “inventorycount” field is only included after the Notification Level has beenreached or breached at the Seller's location and the Notification Levelmessages have been sent to the outlets. This “inventory count” is usedby the present invention to verify that each component (Seller'slocation and all sales outlets) is synchronized as to the inventorylevel that all are working off of.

[0525] Hardware or Software Updating

[0526] It should be noted that the original application was filed Jan.10, 2000. Computer hardware and software are very fluid and dynamicindustries with improvements of existing products continually beingreleased. The original application cites certain hardware such as the“Intel Pentium II Processor with a speed of 300 MH or any comparablecapacity processor” which has now been replaced with newer processorssuch as the Intel Pentium IIII Processor with speeds exceeding 2000 MH.Although the original specifications would still perform their functionsthe obvious improvements of both speed and reliability would bringworthwhile benefits to the present invention and should be substituted.

[0527] The same is true of the software cited within the originalapplication. The original application cited Windows NT as the preferredoperating system. Currently as of the filling of this application thepresent invention would benefit from the replacement of that operatingsystem with its successor product, Windows 2000 as the preferredoperating system.

[0528] In order to provide consistency within the current applicationthe hardware and software cited in the original application were citedin the improvements added to the specifications within this application.This was done purely to prevent mixing hardware and softwarespecifications even though it is acknowledged that the newer hardwareand software would improve performance and reliability.

[0529] Through out the original and current application specifichardware and software are cited. These hardware and softwarespecifications should always be reviewed and wherever possible newer,improved, or successor generations of hardware and software should besubstituted in order to develop the best reliability and performance.

What is claimed is: 1) A method of using a network of computers toenable sellers to request goods or services provided by third partyprofessionals for the creation or management of presentationscomprising: a) providing a third party professional database having alist of available third party professionals; b) providing means forpresenting third party professionals goods and services; c) providingmeans for a seller to select the third party professionals; d) providingmeans for transmitting said request to a selected third partyprofessional of the third party professionals; and e) providing meansfor seller to input information; whereby a seller may choose goods orservices from one or more third party professionals, and transmit therequest to the selected third party professional. 2) The method of claim1 further providing a seller database having a list of sellers. 3) Themethod of claim 1 further providing a means for said third partyprofessional to input guidelines and information. 4) The method of claim1 further providing means for said third party professionals to receivethe sellers request for goods or services. 5) The method of claim 1further providing a third party professionals database having a list ofthird party professionals. 6) The method of claim 1 further providing athird party professionals transactions database having a list of thirdparty professional transactions. 7) The method of claim 1 furtherproviding a third party professional inventory database having a list ofthird party professional inventory. 8) The method of claim 1 furtherproviding means with instructions for a seller to select and purchaseoffers of third party professionals. 9) The method of claim 8 furtherproviding a transaction database for recording the purchases of thesellers. 10) The method of claim 1 wherein the third party professionaldatabase includes a list of available third party professional andcorresponding guidelines, restrictions and standards. 11) The method ofclaim 1 wherein the third party professional database includes a list ofavailable third party professional and corresponding pricing and thirdparty professional inventory availability. 12) The method of claim 1further providing means for transferring said request to said thirdparty professional. 13) The method of claim 1 further providing acomputer to control and facilitate the network of computers. 14) Themethod of claim 1 further providing a means that allows the seller tochose the level of third party professional participation in thecreation or management of presentations. 15) The method of claim 1further providing a means of seller monitoring the participation of thethird party professional. 16) The method of claim 1 further providing ameans of seller collaborating with the third party professional toprovide the goods or services to the seller. 17) The method of claim 1further providing a means of two or more third party professionals tocollaborate to provide goods or services to the seller. 18) The methodof claim 1 further providing a means of seller appointing third partyprofessionals to act as agents of the seller to create or managepresentations. 19) The method of claim 18 further providing a means ofmonitoring the agents. 20) The method of claim 1 further providing ameans of media venues input to the seller and third party professionalbased on sellers and third party original input: acceptance by sellerand third parties and notification of acceptance to media venues bysellers and third parties.